Conversations With My Mother
by HellonHeels44
Summary: Sharon's daughter Christine comes to town and stirs up some trouble for the captain and one of her lieutenants, but with a copy cat murder case to solve, with they ever have the chance to figure out whats happening between them?
1. Chapter 1

Her long hair cascaded down her back in a waterfall of tousled layers. He couldn't tell if it was red or brown in the low lights of the club. She was holding a martini as she shimmied next to a high topped table, her free hand entangled with another young blond woman's. It was obvious she was singing along to the song coming through the sound system as she threw her head back, making her hair fall even further down her back, which was clad in an incredibly well-fitting pencil skirt and a sheer leopard print chemise. There was something oddly familiar about her, but Andy couldn't quite place what it was.

"You're staring." Provenza snorted as he took another sip of his beer. Andy laughed and pointed toward the group of young women.

"The redhead..or is she brunette? Whatever she is...she's a good one."

Provenza glanced at her and nodded agreeably, "The whole lot is great...but I'm not sure they bat for our team. Those two are awfully cuddly."

As the song ended, the two women let go of each other and laughed, then sipped their drinks. The blond sat down to talk with the other women at the table, but the redheaded brunette sat her empty martini glass down and walked towards the bar, going for another. Andy watched her for a moment, then decided to seize the opportunity. With a raised eyebrow, he nodded at Provenza then left him at the table and headed straight for the bar where she was standing. He smirked as he stood next to her, then winked at the bartender. With a knowing nod back, the bartender came right over to him and ignored the woman to Andy's left.

"Andy, my man," the young man exclaimed, offering his hand for a quick handshake, "you been standing here long? Sorry we're so slammed!"

Andy shook his head and pulled his wallet out of his back pocket. "Nah, not been here too long. How ya been? Good?"

"Yea, yea, great. Got some gigs here and there...still working full time here. Can't complain." The young man started in on Andy's cranberry and soda, then sighed, "What does the old man want?"

The redhead pursed her lips as she waited. The bar was busy-did they really need to stand there and chat? It was more than a little rude. Her face tense, highlighting the start of laugh lines around her mouth, she shot Andy a quick glare. Andy saw her out of the corner of his eye and smirked.

"I'm sorry, Cory. This young woman was here before me. Go ahead and serve her, then we can finish our little chat."

She raised an eyebrow, caught off guard. Even she had to admit it was a clever way to pick someone up. "Thank you." Her voice was curt, familiar. She reminded him vaguely of someone, but he couldn't put his finger on who.

"No problem. Saw you're with a group. I'm sure you're eager to get back over there. Cory, put her drink on my tab so I can apologize for being so rude and cutting in front of her."

Christine sighed. This guy was smooth. "Thanks, again." She smiled a small smile as she waited for her dirty martini to be served on the bar.

"I'm Andy." he said quietly, holding out her hand to shake it, "And I'm probably old enough to be your dad, so no I'm not hitting on you."

Christine took his hand and shook it firmly. "Christine..and that's a shame." She took her martini off the bar and winked at him, then sauntered back to her table of girlfriends.

"Hook another one?" Cory laughed, popping the top off the beer he knew Provenza would drink. Andy laughed with him, nodding his head. "Maybe..maybe. She reminds me of someone. She come in here often?"

"Couple times a month, maybe. Usually several days in a row, then she's gone for a while. I think she's an out of towner. Heard her mention law before."

Andy grabbed his drinks, "thanks for being my wingman. Again." Cory nodded as Andy walked back to the table where Provenza was sitting, watching the group. "Any luck?" Provenza muttered as he took the beer and sipped. He knew all of Andy's tricks for picking up women and had to admit that was still the best one of them all.

Andy leaned back against his chair, a satisfied smile on his face. "Maybe."

* * *

"Momma?" Christine called out as she entered the small condo. Sharon was perched on the couch, reading a novel, her glasses resting on the end of her nose. "Hi baby," she muttered quietly, trying to get to the end of her paragraph before her daughter came in the living room.

Christine walked around the couch, sat down next to her Mom and kicked her pumps off. Sharon finished her page and dog eared it, setting the book down on the coffee table.

"How were the girls?" She grinned at her daughter. Having her home made her happy; she loved her monthly visits, even if the house was a little crowded now with Rusty living with her.

Christine flopped over and laid her head in Sharon's lap. She grabbed her Mom's hand and placed it on top of her head, silently asking Sharon to play with her hair. "They were good. Same as usual. Melody's divorce is almost final, so we did a little bit of early celebrating."

Sharon bent down and kissed her daughter square on the forehead. She was nearly 30 but to Sharon she was still a baby, her baby. She ran her hands through her daughter's long hair, gently combing out the tangles. "Good for Melody. I'm so glad she's nearly done with that boy. You know I'm not a fan of divorce, but she needs to be rid of him." Melody, Samantha, Nicole-they were all practically Sharon's own kids. They'd grown up in her house and she loved them all. Her maternal concern was apparent on her face as they spoke about her friends. Christine smiled up at her mom. It was sweet she still cared about them so much.

"You should come out with us tomorrow night, Mom. The girls would love to see you...and we all know you've got some killer moves left in those hips." She smirked as she reached back and smacked her Mom on the side of her leg.

Sharon contemplated the idea for a moment and finally nodded, "Why not? It'll be nice not to be at home for the evening, but I am NOT dancing, young lady."

Christine laughed as she sat up. "Mhm...you forget I know how many martinis it takes to get your wild side to come out, Mom."

* * *

Sharon sat at her desk, disappointed she was going to be late to dinner. Maybe it was just as well. Her daughter insisted on dinner in a club instead of at a proper restaurant. It had been years and years since Sharon had stepped foot in a club for anything other than undercover work. Even then, she usually left it up to Amy if she could. She just didn't quite fit the club scene. Ever. She pulled out her phone to text Christine.

Sharon: Hey baby. Running behind on a case. Maybe there in an hour? Love you. -Mom

Christine: Okay-we'll get drinks. The girls were excited you're coming. YOU HAVE ONE HOUR, WOMAN. xoxoxo. -Daughter

Sharon laughed. Signing 'Mom' at the end of her texts was something she'd done when cell phones first became popular, back when her kids were in high school. She still didn't quite know how to use all the technology that inundated her daily life, though she was getting better with her new iPhone and she learned, after being thoroughly embarrassed by both her son and daughter, that signing your name or title after your text was wholly unnecessary. Still, it'd become a sweet, fun thing between the three of them.

Sharon: Ok, ok. Be there in an hour, I solemnly swear, your honor. -Mom

She slid her phone back in to her purse and did her best to finish up in time to get there before 7:00.

* * *

Christine sat close to Andy at the table, trying to hear him over the music. She'd hoped he'd be there again and was pleasantly surprised when he walked up to her small group with a martini in his hand for her. She felt bad about leaving the girls for a little while, but she'd go back once her Mom got there.

"So, what do you do, Christine?" he asked politely, smirking at her as she scooted her bar stool closer to his.

"I'm a lawyer. Working towards partner in my parent's law firm." She sipped her drink and flipped her long red hair out of her face. Yes, it was definitely red, though it was very dark and matched her olive complexion well. It made her look exotic. Andy looked her up and down and smiled. She was still familiar, and he still couldn't place why. Her bright blues eyes pierced him as she stared back, a tight lipped smirk across her face. There was something about her nose-she held her tension in her mouth. Who else did he know that did that?

Andy placed an arm on the back of her chair, leaning in to her. "So are both your parents lawyers, then? Hell, that's quite the lucrative family business."

Christine shook her head and set her drink down, "Nah, my Mom works here in LA. She doesn't do law..well, not in that sense. The firm is back in New York- my Dad relocated it about twenty years ago. We still have clients out here, so I take most of the LA cases. That way I can see my Mom about once a month and she doesn't have to deal with my Dad."

Andy felt oddly uncomfortable. Christine was pretty. No, Christine was gorgeous. The more she spoke, however, the more familiar she became. He didn't quite know what it was, but he reminded her of someone he wasn't supposed to like. He contemplated her face again. Why did she look so damn familiar? And why was it making him so damn nervous?

Sharon walked in to the club, clad in a pair of dark bootcut jeans, stilettos, and a tank top. The stress of work lately had made her drop even more weight, and her slender arms looked fantastic in her sleeveless shirt thanks to all the swimming she'd been doing in her free time while Rusty shot hoops at the gym. She looked appropriate for her age, but she also looked appropriate for being in a club. She'd straightened her hair that day and pinned her bangs back on top of her head, one of her signature hairstyles. She'd freshened up her make up before she left the office, so she looked quite good. "How are my four favorite girls?!" she exclaimed as she rounded the corner to the table, extending her arms to wrap Melody and Nicole in a hug. "Momma Sharon!" They all squealed, jumping up to hug her back. Samantha rushed around the table and hugged her tight. She really had been their surrogate Mom when they were all teenagers. They hugged for a moment, then Sharon pulled up a seat, looking around.

"So I see three of my favorite girls are here, but where is the pain in the ass I actually bore out of this group?"

Nicole rolled her eyes and sipped a margarita. "She's off flirting with some man, of course."

Sharon laughed as she looked over the drink menu, nodding her head reminiscently. "Raydor women. They've always been man eaters," she smirked, raising her eyebrows mischievously at the girls.

Sharon walked up to the bar and ordered herself a martini. Andy took no notice of the redhead at the bar as he strolled along to get two more drinks from him and Christine. He stopped next to his captain, not recognizing her from behind in such casual and quite frankly, revealing clothing. "I'll have a dry martini please, vodka, with lavender."

He recognized the voice immediately as he heard it. Sharon Raydor, bitch extraordinaire. He looked down, hoping she wouldn't notice him, but he couldn't help but notice her. She had great long layered hair... red, too. She was fit. More fit than he'd ever noticed before, and her cleavage looked amazing in her little black tank. Andy noticed, for the first time, that Sharon Raydor was a woman, and a fine one at that. Sharon turned and caught Andy's eye, surprised and a little embarrassed. She tried to readjust the straps on her top with a drink in her hand, feeling overly exposed to subordinate. "Hello, lieutenant Flynn." she said politely, taking a large sip of her martini.

Andy looked down, "Evening, Captain. I wasn't aware you came here often."

"I don't. Just here to meet a few friends, and my daughter."

Daughter. THAT was why Christine looked so damn familiar. Of course, he finds a good looking woman, and its the wicked witch, version two. Damn. His luck lately had been less than awesome, but Raydor's daughter? He'd never heard the end of this one. Christine walked up behind Andy and smiled, resting a hand on his arm. "Momma, this is the man I told you about last night."

Sharon's mouth was agape, as was Andy's. "Oh, well, I see, honey." Sharon stumbled over her words, something she would have never done if she were in the office and not at a bar. "He's uh... yep." Sharon pursed her lips and averted her eyes, bringing her martini to her mouth for another long gulp. She was going to need another one. Very soon.

Christine watched the exchange between her Mother and her new friend, fascinated. "Do you know him from somewhere, Mom?"

Sharon sputtered again and couldn't help but laugh, "Yes, I know him. He is one of my lieutenants, Christine."

Andy raised his eyebrows, a wall of realization smacking him hard in the face, "So, Sharon Raydor is your mother? You're Christine Raydor, who just took on the Simpson case. It all makes sense now... except it doesn't. If I drank, I would need one right about now."

Christine paused for a moment, then let out a loud laugh. "Only in LA. Biggest damn city on the west coast and you still manage to get picked up by your Mom's employee. Awesome place, this is."

Sharon shook her head, her cheeks on fire with embarrassment. Being a dick to her in the squad room was one thing, but picking up on her kid? She was at least 25 years his junior! That man! "Well, Christine," Sharon said calmly with a tone that suggested she'd kill them both later, "We should get back to our dinner plans. It was nice to see you, lieutenant Flynn." With that, Sharon grabbed her daughter by the arm, a little tighter than she should have, and walked her back to their table.

Andy watched them go as realization after realization dawned on him. He was attracted to Christine because... because well, damn. He was attracted to Sharon. _Very _attracted to Sharon.

* * *

Sharon stomped back to her bedroom and put her yoga pants and an oversized police sweatshirt on. THIS is why she never goes to bars. They are always full of disappointment and nonsense. How dare Andy Flynn hit on her child. She stumbled back in to the kitchen, clearly grumpy, and grabbed a bottle of wine and some chocolate. "I'm going on the patio Chris. Want to join?"

"Sure, Mom." She said softly, wondering why the evening had gotten her so riled up.

"Do you like that guy, Christy?" She was already nursing her wine as she looked down the balcony at the city below.

"Like? I don't know, Mom. I don't know him. He bought me a couple drinks and we had a nice talk."

"Well, he certainly thought you were lovely." The twinge of hurt in her voice was obvious. Christine moved closer to her Mom and wrapped her arms around her.

"Momma, whats this all about? Why are you so upset?"

Sharon sighed. She wasn't sure why it made her so upset. Andy had never seen her daughter before, its not like there was any way he could've known. 'I don't know.. I just... you're my baby and I don't want some detective's dirty paws all over you. Besides which, he calls me a bitch, is terrible to me at work, then her turns around and hits on my carbon copy... my younger, prettier, more exotic carbon copy, but STILL. You look just like me, save for your coloring. How the hell does he think I'm the wicked witch of the west and then turn around and hit on you?" Her frustration, and her hurt, was obvious to her daughter. She gave her Mom and big squeeze and rested her head in the middle of her back.

"Mom, don't shoot me for saying this, but have you ever considered that maybe you have feelings for Andy Flynn?"

Sharon balked at her daughter's accusation. "FEELINGS? For FLYNN? Yes, I've got some feelings for Flynn. They usually involve words like smarmy, slippery, bastard, pain in my ass, difficult...would you like me to continue? Because I can, I've got some time."

Christine shook her head and laughed. So typical of her Mom to be blindsided by her own emotion. "Just think about it, Mom. I think you have feelings for the guy."

Sharon sighed heavily and downed the rest of her wine. She didn't need to think about having feelings for Andy Flynn. She knew she had them, and her little outburst this evening had proved it.


	2. Chapter 2

**Sharon**

Sharon held her head in her hands as she sat at her desk, looking over the latest case files. Why the hell did she drink so much last night? In the morning light, Andy Flynn being attracted to her daughter was not worth this hangover, the sleep she lost, or any of her time today. When it came down to it, he was just another smart ass cop with an IA file so thick she could wallpaper her whole office with his past if she wanted to. Besides, Christine was a smart girl. Now that she knew Andy was an employee of her mothers, she certainly wouldn't go after him. As for Sharon being attracted to him, that was one big, dumb, drunken mistake. She wasn't attracted to him any more than she was attracted to Provenza. She was just letting her pride get in the way. Stupid, really, just like that last glass of wine was stupid.

_Stop thinking. It hurts._

She held her hands up to her eyes, trying to make the pounding in her head stop. Maybe a smoothie was not enough on her stomach to make this go away. Deciding she just couldn't work this way, she tossed her glasses on her desk top and sauntered out of her office lazily, hoping no one else was there yet. As she walked in to the murder room, sure enough, there sat Andy Flynn. Of course he'd show up early today after royally screwing up at the bar. Or, kind of screwing up. Okay, not screwing up at all, but still-hitting on her damn daughter. How dare he. Why couldn't he call in sick today?

"Good morning, captain." His tone was quiet and awkward, not like her usual hot headed lieutenant at all. It was reassuring to see he was as embarrassed her.

"Good morning, lieutenant. I'm glad you made it in on time after your little foray last night." Her tone was decidedly not quiet or awkward, but forceful and garnished with a touch of bitter, if Andy had to guess.

He couldn't help the laugh that escaped his lips. "You forget I don't drink, Captain? To be honest, I'm a bit surprised to see you here, an hour early I might add, after _your _adventure last night. Who knew you were a martini girl?"

She scowled, her hands placed firmly on her hips. "Number one, lieutenant Flynn, despite your taste in women, and obviously what you're used to as a result, I am NOT a girl. I thought of all things by you hitting on my daughter last night, you'd realize she IS and I am not." Whoops. That wasn't quite supposed to come out that way, but Sharon just couldn't help it; she was still furious with him. Her little outburst caused her to grab her head. She needed to eat something or she was going to be ill. Again. Wine and vodka-never, ever, ever would those two go together in her system again as long as she lived, provided she lived through today.

Andy shook his head, genuinely insulted by Sharon for the first time in a long time. "Sorry, captain. I was out of line with that comment," he sighed quietly, watching her as she looked like she was going to upchuck all over the murder room. She was pale, obviously hung over. Something about her was kind of cute, in a weird way. Maybe it was how vulnerable she looked, or maybe it was how much she wrinkled her nose when she was annoyed. New details about her seemed to surface every time she moved now. It was like she was a new woman, not the same captain who'd been standing in front of him for months, writing him up in FID for years. Yes, Sharon was definitely the woman he was attracted to.

She finally let go of her head and wrapped her arms around her waist. "I'm going to go run an errand. I'll be back by 8:30." She stared him down for another moment, then turned on her heel and marched back in to her office, grabbing her keys. This morning was certainly not one for another smoothie, or green juice, or even coffee. She needed something substantial and she needed, more than anything, to get the hell away from Flynn before she opened her big mouth again.

* * *

**Christine**

Christine sat on the couch, clad in a pair of floral print pajama bottoms and a black lace tank top, her long red hair piled on top of her head in a messy bun. She had a note pad balanced on her leg and several books splayed out next to her. She was nearly thirty, but she managed to look about twelve sometimes.

Rusty shot a glance her way as he walked through the living room, yawning. "Sup, little Raydor?"

Christine looked up from her book and laughed. She'd never get used to that nickname. "The sky, fool."

Rusty rolled his eyes. She was as cheesy as her mom. He looked around the couch at the coffee table for dirty dishes and only saw two empty glasses, a bright green film left in each of them. "You drink that disgusting crap, too, Christine?"

Christine nodded absent-mindedly, having already gone back to her work. "Yep. When Mom makes me." she let out a small laugh, then tossed her note book aside and grabbed the glasses. "There's a great little take out joint around the corner. They make the _best _breakfast burritos ever. Want to go grab a couple?"

Rusty liked that Christine didn't claim Sharon as her Mom. She was just Mom in the house. It felt weird, but it felt good. He never felt like he belonged anywhere so much as he did here, with these new women. He had yet to meet Sharon's son, but both Christine and Sharon assured him constantly that Nathan was excited to meet him. He nodded, then pointed at her pants, "Yea, we can go, as long as you promise not to wear your clown pants."

Christine looked down and laughed, "Deal. But I'm changing in to Mom's sweats. Its a holiday. No use in putting real clothes on, right?" Christine rushed off in to her Mom's room to change. She wanted to stay on the couch, to give her Mom her space, but Sharon insisted that Christine would stay in her room with her. She grabbed a pair of yoga pants and one of her Mom's police hoodies, then headed back out to the living room, a pair of oversized sunglasses perched on top of her head and her Mom's uggs on her feet. She looked perfectly LA.

Rusty locked the house and walked next to her, holding the elevator door open for her. "Its amazing how put together you and Sharon both look all day every day, and then what a mess you both turn in to once you're home," he teased, punching her lightly in the arm.

Christine glared at him, mimicking her Mom, then let out her own loud laugh. "Hey, can't be perfect all the time. Its important to be comfortable. If you can't do that at home, with the people you love, then where can you do it, Rusty?"

Rusty thought for a moment. She was right, but he'd never felt that. Even at Sharon's-he still felt like he needed to be as well put together as he could, even if his behavior wasn't always 100 percent stellar. "You're right, I guess. I just.. I don't know. Home's never been comfortable for me."

The thought made Christine sad for him. It was difficult for her to imagine how he'd gone through so many years without ever feeling safe enough to just relax. She made a mental note to take it less for granted. Rusty made her realize things like that a lot. She let out a small hum as they walked out in to the daylight, the city bustling before them. "Well," she finally said, wrapping her slender arm through his, his hand tucked in his pocket, "I hope you'll feel comfortable enough around us eventually to be able to do that. I know you don't call her Mom, but Rusty she loves you already. As far as she is concerned, she is Mom, you are son. That's the end of it. She'll never stop you from pursuing your biological Mom, but with us, you're home, bud."

Nobody ever called him pet names like these two crazy women did. At first he wanted to find it patronizing, but it had definitely grown on him. This was Christine's umpteenth visit since he'd moved in, and he was really getting used to having a big sister of sorts. Her enthusiasm and kindness always amazed him. As much as he did already love Sharon, she could still be intimidating. It was easier to talk to Christine. She was like.. Raydor light. Rusty laughed to himself as that thought occurred to him.

"I know, and I'm super grateful for everything Sharon has done for me-and you. You guys are great. I do feel comfortable at home...I just.. I don't ever want to get in Sharon's way more than I already have."

Christine frowned as they turned the corner to the little take out joint called Joe's. California was full of those little one-name dives. She loved it. The only thing that topped Joe'swas Pedro's, down in Laguna Beach. Sometimes she and Sharon drove the fifty five minutes just to get their hands on a couple of those famous burritos. She made a note to take Rusty there before she went back to New York this time.

"But that's the thing, Rusty. You aren't in her way. I don't know if you've noticed, but Mom doesn't really take shit from anyone, for anything. You are in her home because that's exactly where she wants you. You're in her heart because you've earned your way in to it. And once that woman loves you, its a death grip she keeps on ya, let me tell you."

Rusty's grin grew wider, "Yea, I know that already."

He lead her up to a table and then let go of her arm so she could sit, but she pulled her wallet out of her purse first. "You go ahead and sit, what do you want?"

Rusty glanced up at the large menu. They had about ten things listed, including a bacon and sausage breakfast burrito. He obviously had to try that. Christine took his order and committed it to memory, then walked up to the window, about fifty feet away from Rusty. She was nervous leaving him, even when she was still that close. It was her Mother's rule never to let him out of sight, but surely he'd be okay sitting there two minutes.

* * *

**The Family**

Sharon spotted the blonde head pretty quickly as she looked up from her book. She knew it was bad for her, but Joe's burritos had cured her hangovers for thirty five years. There was no use in finding a new cure now. Though she spotted Rusty quickly, she did not spot her daughter. Panic rose in her throat and she stood immediately and marched to his table. She touched his shoulder gently, not wanting to scare him.

"Rusty, what are you doing here?"

Rusty jumped. He always jumped, even when she did that at home. She hated how easily he could be startled. "Oh-Sharon. What are you doing here?" he asked quickly, confused as to why she wasn't at work.

Sharon exhaled a breath she didn't realize she was holding in, relieved he was okay. "I was just a little hungrier than usual this morning and had some extra time to get away from my desk. You won't tell anyone I snuck some junk food, right?" She had a goofy grin on her face as she shrugged her shoulders. They were always the tiniest glimpses, but he could definitely see how Christine could appear so youthful sometimes; Sharon could too, if you caught her in the right moment. Neither woman was naïve, in fact they were both far from it, but buried somewhere deep inside them there was a beautiful childishness preserved, like their goodness became animate and vital. It managed to escape at the tiniest intervals, but it was so refreshing for Rusty to see.

"Cross my heart." he smiled, resting his hand on hers, which was still pressed against his shoulder, "Christine is just ordering us some breakfast burritos. Do you have time to sit with us?"

Sharon smiled at the invitation. She always had time for her kids. "Of course, I can stay for about twenty more minutes before I need to get back."

Christine sauntered back, her glasses covering half her face, as she held a large box of food and drinks. "Alright, Rusty, greasy goodness coming righ-Momma!", she leaned over and kissed her Mom lazily on the top of her head, "too hung over to work?"

"Laura Christine, I am not hung over." Sharon's face was stern, but her facade was transparent. She nodded, resigned to telling the truth, then let out a guilty giggle. "Okay, fine. I was hungry and my lieutenants were driving me crazy this morning."

Rusty laughed and took a big bite of his burrito, "What, Provenza wear another barf worthy tie?"

Sharon placed a hand on him and rubbed his back soothingly. "Don't talk with your mouth full, please, and no, it had nothing to do with his tie... but now I think of it, the man does wear some ugly ties, doesn't he?"

Rusty raised an eyebrow at her, shocked she hadn't noticed before, and all three of them double over in laughter.

Catching her breath, Christine took a big bite of her burrito and opened her mouth just to defy her mother in solidarity with her foster brother, "So who's driving you crazy then, Mom? That lovely Mr. Flynn?"

Sharon glared at her, this time more seriously, "Lovely Mr. Flynn, huh? You mean my lieutenant, my subordinate, that man who I can't get to listen to a single word I say, police officer Flynn, Christine?"

Christine caught her drift. Okay, don't talk about it in front of Rusty-but yes that was the one. She looked back at her Mom with raised eyebrows, then let it go. Rusty looked between the two women, confused. "What did Andy do this time?"

Sharon sighed, her frustration from this morning resurfacing itself quicker than she'd like it to. "Oh, nothing. Just same old Flynn. I think I'd rather just be at home with you two today than be at work."

Christine's eyes brightened as a stroke of genius hit her. She wanted Rusty to be more comfortable at home and she knew exactly how to do it. "Mom, can you take the day off?"

Sharon thought for a moment, then pulled her phone out to look at her calendar. She scrolled through it, then nodded, "Well, I don't have any big meetings today. I really should be in the office, but I'm not feeling 100 percent... I suppose I could, as long as I don't get called out for a scene."

Christine squeezed Rusty's arm, then smiled a big, toothy smile at her Mom. "Well, I'm already in sweats, and Rusty has never had a relaxed day around the house with us. What do you say you call in sick and we all go home and you two can put your pajamas on, because its obviously the fashionable thing to do, and we can all watch movies all day like we used to do?"

Sharon looked between their two faces. She had to admit, they were irresistible when they wanted to be. She contemplated for another moment, then slumped her shoulders and pushed her lips out as she released a sigh. "I don't see why not. That could be a lot of fun."

Rusty and Christine shared a high five as Sharon pulled her cell phone out and dialed Flynn's number.

"Hello-lieutenant. This is Captain Raydor. Yes, _Sharon Raydor, and that's not funny. _Something came up at home, and I'll be out of the office today. No, no, Flynn, I'm not coming back today. I'll be available on my cell, and I'll work from home from 2:00 on. No, yes. Everything is fine. Ok.. okay. Bye." Her tone was short. She couldn't admit, even to herself, that she called him specifically so she could hear his voice. She'd still have to call Pope, but she had to let a member of her team know too, right?

After Sharon was done with her necessary phone calls she drove them home and they all got settled in their most comfortable pajamas; Christine still in her Mom's sweats. Christine and Sharon laid across the couch, legs intertwined, as Rusty sat on the floor, his back against the couch, sitting close to Sharon. Sharon mussed his hair and squeezed his shoulder occasionally as they watched the first film, which just _had _to be "Ferris Bueller's Day Off", just like she used to do with Nathan. It turned out to be a long, lazy day, filled with movies and popcorn and lots of laughs. It was simple, it was fun. It was a day Rusty hoped would stay burned in to his memory forever.


	3. Chapter 3

_Sorry I've been MIA! Here's a short little chapter. After a couple weeks off I'm feeling a bit rusty. Be sure to leave reviews-what did you like, where could it improve, what do you want to see happen?! Thanks! You're all fabulous! xoxo_

**Christine.**

Christine sat at the table in the far back corner of the coffee house. It had been her favorite table to study at ever since she'd been in high school, waiting for her mom, then newly single, to get off work at the station. Andy glanced her way as he stood at the till. To talk to her, or not to talk to her? He guessed, after hitting on her in front of her Mom, he at least owed her an apology. Maybe he only felt that way because she was the bosses kid, but he still felt compelled.

"This seat taken?" His voice was gruff. It took her by surprise and she jumped a little before she looked up from her case files.

Christine smiled softly and shook her head, "No, its not taken…but if my Mother walks in here and sees you with me, you know she'll have your head."

Andy laughed. She had a sense of humor like her Mom-though admittedly, Christine's sense of humor seemed to surface a lot more often than Sharon's did.

"I'm not worried about your Mother. She's pissed at me 99% of the time anyway. Gotta give her something to be mad about today."

Christine shook her head. It was amazing how convinced Sharon had her team that she was the wicked witch.

"She can't possibly be that terrifying. She's a teeny little woman."

"Ever met a rabid Chihuahua?" Andy's lips curled in amusement as he said it. The thought of Sharon Raydor barking and nipping at heels like a lap dog was pretty funny.

Christine eyed him as he sat down, obviously taking his own self-invitation to sit despite her warning.

"Watch it buddy, that is my Mother you're talking about, and you never know, maybe being rabid runs in the family."

"That so? I can see it," Andy grinned as he shifted in his chair, "And on that frightening note, I just wanted to apologize for the other night. Your Mom seemed pretty upset that we'd been talking."

Christine looked up at the ceiling as she pondered his apology. She didn't want to give her Mom away, but she wanted to let Andy know, too, that Sharon was interested in him. Sometimes it was difficult with Sharon. She guarded her heart so much that sometimes-most the time-it was to her own detriment. Maybe it was time to play matchmaker for momma. God knows she could use a man. Christine hummed to herself and uncrossed her arms, grabbing her latte off the table to take a sip. With her nose, which was just like her father's nose, hidden behind her coffee mug, she looked almost exactly like Sharon.

"Mom was just upset one of her subordinates, who treats her like crap I might add, hit on her carbon copy. It just added insult to injury that you're a jerk to her, then turn around and buy someone who looks just like her drinks at a bar. Kind of like the boy pulling her pigtails in grade school because he likes her kind of a thing, you know?"

Andy had to admit he was taken aback by her response. Was that an admission, albeit an indirect one, that Sharon Raydor liked him? Maybe he was the kid on the playground, what's wrong with that? He huffed under his breath and crossed his arms, suddenly feeling defensive.

"I see it does run in the family after all."

Christine set her cup down and crossed her arms and Flynn met her glare again. Obviously that was not the right thing to say.

"Look, Andy, you came here to apologize to me. I appreciate the apology. But really? I tell you why she was upset and you respond by antagonizing me? Is that what you do at work, too?" Christine narrowed her eyes as she waited for his response.

Flynn shook his head. Maybe all the Raydor women really were more trouble than they were worth. "I don't think its really any of your business what I do at work, kid. I came to apologize to_ you _just in case I embarrassed you. I did not come to apologize for any kind of hissy fit your Mom threw."

He could feel his temper rising as she stared at him defiantly. Christine met his gaze for a long moment, then shook her head and began to gather up her things. There was no need to stay here and be goaded by this guy.

"Wow, you are a charmer, Andy Flynn. I can't see why my mother would ever have a problem with you. Let me just say, I hope your bedside manner is a lot better than your charm, and dare I say your professionalism. Have a good day, Mr. Flynn." Her tone was cold and biting as she snapped at him, then grabbed her bag. Andy sighed heavily as he watched her stomp off in her high heels, looking comically like her mother as she threw her fit all the way out the coffee shop door. Maybe this attraction to Sharon really was fleeting after all. If she acted anything like her kid-which he knew she did-there was nothing there to be attracted to. He crossed his legs under the table and sipped his latte; letting his thoughts settle on Sharon for just a little while longer.

**Rusty.**

Rusty sat at the dining room table staring at the blank piece of paper. He knew his Mom had gone back to jail for a few weeks now. It wasn't so surprising. It wasn't even hard to handle anymore. What was hard, however, was thinking of something to say to her in a letter.

_Dear Mom,_

_ I'm sorry you're in jail again. Is the food at least okay this time? How are you? Have you made any friends?_

A pang of sadness struck deep in Rusty's gut. Life with Sharon, and occasionally Christine and the gang at the LAPD, had become so normal for him. After school homework sessions, snacks at the station, even the 10 o'clock bedtime-it all felt good to him now. For the first time in his life, writing a letter to his Mom in jail felt…shameful. Embarrassing. Foreign. Still, it was important to write her.

_Sharon Raydor is really nice. She's more than nice. She buys me things I need and cooks dinner a lot and she put me in a really good school. Her cooking isn't the greatest, but she tries. Life is really good right now. It's really fun. I made some new friends at school in the chess club. I play chess now. Pretty cool, huh?_

Each paragraph felt wrong. Every good thing he said about Sharon felt like an insult directed at his own Mom. How could explain the life Sharon had given him? On paper it sounded like he appreciated her for the material things, but that just wasn't it. He leaned back in the chair, resting his head in his outstretched hands. One more try before he'd give up and just do homework instead.

_I know it sounds like I like Sharon because she gives me things, but that's not true. She's really, really nice. And strict. She makes me go to bed at 10:00 EVERY NIGHT. It's not so bad though. In the morning we have breakfast if she's not called in to work early. She talks to me a lot about you, too. She says she's sorry to hear you are in jail again, she hopes you're okay. I miss you, Mom, but Sharon is taking really, really good care of me. I love her. _

It all sounded stupid. What was the point in writing her anyway? She'd probably just be mad that he liked Sharon more than he liked her-even if it wasn't true. Rusty left the paper and his pen spread out on the kitchen table and went to his room. There was just no point in writing her, and he needed to work on homework anyway.

**Andy.**

Andy stormed in to the station, his altercation with Christine weighing heavy on his mind. What was it with the Raydor women that made them think they could just get away with being so rude to him? Was it a thing? Did they have a club or something? The "I hate Andy Flynn United Women's Association"? He dropped himself in to his chair, sighing heavily as his hands hit his desk. He glanced over at Sharon's office window. She was sitting in her chair and it looked like she had her legs tucked under herself. The site softened his mood for a moment, but only a moment.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" Provenza muttered as he stared Andy down, amused at his bad mood.

Andy looked up at him and sighed. "Women."

Sharon's ears perked up as she heard Flynn's voice. Of course, only because she was noting that the lieutenant had come back, not because she wanted him to be there. She sighed and flipped the page on the file she was reading, her ears still attuned to the conversation happening outside her door.

Provenza rolled his eyes, "Another new woman, or have you offended one of the old ones more than once?"

Andy laughed despite himself. Sometimes Provenza was funny, even if he was an asshole. "Redheads. They're all nuts. The WHOLE lot." Andy raised his voice on purpose, ever the instigator.

Sharon rolled her eyes, not in the mood today for Andy's games or bullheaded insults. She got up and sauntered to her office door, then slammed it shut.

Andy looked back at her door and pointed, half grinning, half scowling at Provenza. "See? Red heads. Nuts."


	4. Chapter 4

**Sharon.**

_Andy watched her as she poured her coffee. Her black satin nightie clung to her curves and her bare legs rested against the counter as she sleepily stirred in the sweetener. Her hair was still mussed from the night before and her long red layers hung over her bare shoulders. He smirked as she caught him staring and it made her grin. It was nice to have him around in the morning. It was nice to have him around all the time. The night before had been simply magical…and mind blowing. A few times. She hadn't expected Andy to have that sort of stamina at his age, but she sure was grateful for it._

_He didn't have a shirt on, and she was grateful for that too. His boxers hung low on his hips. His chest-God, his chest. Police work certainly paid off when it came to Andy Flynn's body. Sixty years old and he still had the muscle definition of a twenty year old. She'd always wondered-the few times she'd slipped and felt his arm through his shirt it was muscular, but certainly the rest of him couldn't look like that. Oh, she was so happy she was wrong. She could see his muscles flexed as he moved towards her, ready to wrap her in his strong arms. His hands came to a rest on her hips as he pulled her in close, enveloping her in a strong, sweet hug. Sex with Andy had been fabulous. The morning after was more than she could have imagined. For the first time in years, Sharon remembered what it felt like to be admired, to be wanted, to be loved. _

Sharon rolled over in her bed after hitting the snooze button, the memories from her dream still fresh in her mind. What the fuck was her first question. Had that really happened? She rested an arm over her eyes, dreading the day to come. Pope was on her ass for an unresolved case and Andy was dead set on being as useless as he could make himself lately. She let out a grumble and chided herself inwardly again for losing it with him a few days ago. She shouldn't have been so unprofessional. In hindsight, his little fling at the bar with Chris really had been nothing, and she wasn't interested anyway so why should she care? She brushed a strand of hair out of her face and rubbed her eyes before regretfully making her way out of bed.

She rolled her eyes as she looked down and remembered her black nightie's star appearance in her little dream. Surely she'd only dreamt of Andy because she was worried about her own professionalism. She'd crossed a line when she yelled at him the other day and now she was making herself pay for it. She felt the heat surface in her cheeks as she thought of his bare chest. "Get it together, Sharon," she mumbled and shook her head, trying to shake the image out of it. No sixty year old man looked like the man in her head, Andy or not, she might as well get over that right now.

She followed through her morning routine in a bit of a daze, preoccupied with her dream, and punishing herself for having it in the first place. Clad in a black pencil skirt and white sleeveless silk top, she grabbed her favorite pair of Louboutins out of the closet and slipped her feet in to them. It was already too warm to wear her blazer, but she'd take it to the office anyway. She didn't like not having the comfort of a blazer around her, but the July sun in LA was just brutal. One last look in the mirror and she headed out the door, landing a quick kiss on her foster son's head as she passed by him. By the time she got to the office, the dream would be out of her head. Period.

**Andy.**

Andy watched Sharon as she walked in to the office, sashaying silently past his desk save for the click of her heels on the tile. He immediately noticed her bare arms. She had nice arms-graceful, like a dancer, so he liked it when she didn't wear her coats and layers. There was something softer about her when she wasn't in her traditional "Captain Raydor" uniform. She was still as professional as ever no matter what she had on, but it was still a nice change. Of course, he hadn't really realized he cared until last week.

Sharon quickly disappeared in to her office. This case was taking a toll on all of them. The victim, a young woman named Amelia, was almost the same age as Sharon and Andy's kids. The kids were always the hardest-it made you realize how much you couldn't protect your own. Andy sighed. He was the only one in the murder room so there was nothing to distract him from the files on his desk. He glanced over them then threw them aside as he stood and walked to the white board, trying to make a crack in this case one last time before everyone got in for the day.

Sharon watched him through the window as he leaned against a desk, arms crossed as he stared at the photos of the victim. She had been pretty. She had been young. There was no reason for that girl to die. Sharon's heart broke as she watched Andy shake his head, clearly disturbed by the photos plastered to the white board with magnets. Bruises, cuts-they were everywhere. Whoever had killed Amelia didn't just kill her. They took pleasure in it, that'd been obvious. They mutilated her. The last case LA had seen as gruesome as Amelia was Elizabeth Short. She wouldn't let Amelia become another Dahlia. Whoever had done this would pay-and they would pay on her watch if it was the last thing she did.

Andy rested his head in his hand and sighed. He needed to talk to Sharon. This just hit too close to home. Sharon watched him carefully as he continued to contemplate the photos, running a finger over one before tucking his hands in to his pockets. He seemed more upset about this case than any other before. She hummed to herself as she pondered him. Maybe he was being useless because he was affected, not because he was intent on being an ass to her.

**Christine.**

"Thanks for picking me up, Dad." She smiled as she leaned in to kiss him on the cheek. Her dad smiled back at her and took her bag, ever the gentlemen.

"No problem, little one. How's your Mom?" That was always his first question.

Christine rolled her eyes. You'd think twenty-two years apart would be enough for him to stop asking. "Mom's good. She's Mom. Busy with work, busier with Rusty. Still catching the bad guys in her Louboutins and playing Momma to whomever she can on the side."

John smiled. It wasn't that he didn't love Sharon. He just didn't love her the way he was supposed to. Sometimes he was sad it didn't work, most days he was thrilled to be in New York. Two people as driven as them could have never worked. It just was what it was.

"I'm glad to hear she's still herself." He winked at his daughter, opening the passenger door to his BMW and waiting for her to get in. She followed his instruction without speaking and took her bag from him, grabbing for her phone as soon as she was settled. She looked at her cell as her dad drove out of the parking lot, taking note of a few texts here and there. She grinned as she checked the last one-from James.

_Last night was good fun, Christine. Get your butt back to LA fast so we can do it again. _

He was British. He was a surgeon. He was a little bit perfect. It had just been impromptu drinks set up by a friend, but this could work. She was excited to keep talking to him.

"And who are we texting with that grin on our face?" John smirked as he pulled up to his daughter's Park Avenue apartment.

Christine blushed deep crimson and shrugged her shoulders, grinning. She reminded him so much of Sharon when she did that.

**Sharon and Andy. **

"Ok, go over this with me one more time, please." She sighed heavily as she looked at the doctor pleadingly. She didn't want to miss anything, but there were so many injuries it was hard not to. Andy hung back at the door, averting his gaze. His face was gray, like he was going to be ill. Sharon looked over at him but he wouldn't look back at her. Typical. The hardest part of the job and he's just going to hang back and let her do it. Typical Flynn.

"The first wound was a slit to the neck-but she had already been killed, or at least nearly there. Traces of formaldehyde are on her lips and nose, indicating there was possibly a soaked cloth held over her face." The doctor picked up the corpses arm, pointing to the crook of her elbow. "Here-there is an injection site. There was formaldehyde in her blood. Whoever killed her knew precisely what they were doing."

Sharon covered her mouth. She hadn't seen the body since the day it was discovered and even then she was almost too shocked to take it all in. Standing here, this close, was a whole new ball game with this case. Her eyes were the clearest crystal blue. She looked almost peaceful if you only looked in her eyes, but the rest of her face was gruesome. Sharon hummed and placed her hands behind her back, trying to keep her composure as the examination continued. Andy held fast by the door, his head still down, hands at his sides. As uncomfortable as Sharon was, Andy looked ten times worse.

"Two lacerations to either side of the face, precisely equal in length from the corner of the mouth to the front of the ear. One vertical laceration from the top of the rib cage to the pelvic bone. All three look as though they were made with a scalpel, but-"

The doctor stopped as the exam room door slammed shut. Sharon reeled; the case had her feeling jumpy as it was and the unexpected bang made her nearly crawl out of her own skin. "Jesus." She muttered as she collected herself. Andy was gone. She stared at the door for a moment, unsure whether to be concerned or angry. Andy knew it was protocol to have two officers in the exam room. Why had he just stormed out? He wasn't even participating, for goodness sake. After a moment she took a deep breath and composed herself.

"Will you excuse me while I make sure Lieutenant Flynn is alright, please?"

The doctor looked between Sharon and the young woman on the table. "Well, she won't be going anywhere." His tone was solemn, but it still made Sharon cringe. She responded with a curt not and opened the door, more than ready to be out of the room and away from the body.

She walked the length of the corridor and turned the corner to see Andy stepping out of the men's room, his face grayer than ever.

"Lieutenant Flynn, would you care to tell me what is going on?" Her voice was harsher than she'd meant it to be.

Flynn sighed, wiping his mouth. He'd been ill, but he didn't want her to know that. "Not really," he muttered, his head down.

Sharon nodded, then hummed. "Okay…then… would you care to finish this examination with me so we can go back to the station?"

Andy crossed his arms. He couldn't imagine going back in to that room if his life depended on it. "Not really."

Sharon sighed. This was ridiculous. If he wouldn't tell her what was wrong then he needed to buck up and do his damn job. This wasn't his first murder victim.

"Lieutenant Flynn, this is not an easy case for anyone. I am going to ask you one more time to finish this examination with me so we can please go. The rule requires there are two of us in the room."

Andy was so angry he could throttle her. Was she so blind she couldn't tell he was upset? Truly, deeply, inescapably pushed to his edge with this one? Perception was part of what made an officer good. Why the hell didn't she have any ability for it?

"I would have thought with some time you'd figure it out, captain, but you're just as oblivious as the day you danced in here. Do you even see the people in these cases, or do you just hide behind the paper work? You learn names now, I'll give you that, but you still can't do this, can you? You can't recognize that THAT, in there, is a young woman. Not a thing, not a stack of paperwork. She was someone's kid, someone's sister. I admire your ability not have a single god damn feeling, Captain Raydor, I really do, but get a grip."

Sharon was stunned. Andy had chided her before, he'd even yelled at her before, but it was never so personal. Tears threatened to fall and she took a deep breath to compose herself. It seemed like she'd been doing that a lot today, and it wasn't even noon. His insubordination would be dealt with later, but now was not the time for it. She took another breath and crossed her arms, guarding herself.

"Okay. We'll go." Her voice faltered as she tried to suppress her tears. "We'll go. I'll go get my bag."

Andy wouldn't meet her eyes. He knew he was wrong, but she just didn't understand. He watched her walk away as she headed back down the hall toward the examination room; relieved she was away from him.

Sharon grabbed her bag off the floor and looked at the doctor, trying not to look at Amelia. "I uh, I'm sorry, but we've got to cut this. You can finish the autopsy-please send me a report as soon as you've got one."

The doctor gave her a silent nod and Sharon walked out of the room, dreading going back to Andy. She didn't know much about her team personally, but she felt like this was out of character for him. He had snapped before, yes, but it was never this uncontrolled.

Sharon gave a nod as she approached him and Andy walked off with her in tow behind. The car ride back to the station was going to be miserable.


	5. Chapter 5

_Thank you so much to everyone who has reviewed this! I'm so glad everyone has enjoyed reading it so far! I am trying to write more crime in to this one keeping in line with the show. Its my first try with crime, ever really, so we'll see how goes. Keep reading, keep reviewing! I love hearing what you all have to say! _

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**Andy.**

Andy sat on the corner of the desk, arms crossed, staring. No matter how many times he looked at the photos of Amelia, he couldn't get used to them, he couldn't make himself numb-not this time. He let out a sigh. He knew he should get home. Everyone else had left hours ago and the night sky was creeping through the windows as the sun disappeared behind the fluorescent lights of downtown LA. Amelia. _Abigail._ Even the names were too similar for his liking. He rubbed his forehead and pressed his hands in to his eye sockets. This case was going to take it out of him, and if he didn't watch it he was going to take it out on everyone else.

He needed to talk to Sharon as his boss, but he couldn't start the conversation. Not with her. She wouldn't understand. And yet, she really was the one he'd wanted to tell. Besides, he hadn't so much as muttered Abigail's name since he moved to the west coast. Why start now? No. He would beat this, just like he beat everything else. He would solve this case-for Amelia. _For Abigail. _He grabbed his coat and moved to leave. He glanced back at the photos of Amelia hung on the whiteboard one last time before he switched off the lights in the murder room. Her eyes were the worst part. He would never forget her eyes.

As Andy pulled out of the station and turned right, he found himself driving towards Sharon's house. He'd been there a few times as a favor to drop Rusty off or pick him up, but it wasn't on his way home at all. Did he really want to apologize for making her cry or was he just looking for a distraction? He knew she'd be pissed if he went to her house-but that was half the fun. He glanced at the discarded novel on his passenger floor as he sat at a red light. Rusty had left it there a few days ago and he'd been meaning to return it. Surely he was missing it by now; it'd only be right to drop it by. He breezed through another light as he contemplated the look on Sharon's face when she answered the door and saw him standing there. Would she still be mad? Or hurt? He still didn't know which she was today-she'd nearly cried, yes, but being hurt required having a heart and Sharon Raydor obviously didn't possess one of those. Andy chuckled to himself as he came to a stop in one of the visitor slots in the parking deck for Sharon's building. Hey, if this turned out badly, maybe he'd be off the case. If it turned out well, at least it was a good distraction, even if only for the slightest moment.

**Sharon.**

Sharon sat curled up on the couch, her feet tucked underneath her lithe frame. She had her favorite black cardigan wrapped around herself and was nursing a glass of white wine as she watched TV with Rusty. Normally this much television wasn't allowed, but it had been one hell of a day and she was too tired to pretend she wasn't upset. The TV kept Rusty's attention more than her bad mood would and she'd at least gotten him to agree on a historical movie instead of Family Guy-his original request. She jumped when the doorbell rang, and then rolled her eyes. As Rusty hit pause on the remote, she stood and wrapped her sweater tighter around her body before she moved towards the door.

As she looked through the peephole she spotted Andy, head down with a book in his hands. As if yelling at her at work wasn't enough, he had to show up at her house? This was totally inappropriate. She unlocked the door and opened it, wondering what on earth he was doing.

"Hello lieutenant Flynn. Can I help you?" Her tone was flat, as if she was making up for her emotions at work by having none at all now.

Andy cleared his throat. This was more nerve racking than he thought. "I uh-Rusty. He left a book in my car. I just noticed it… thought he might need it for school."

Sharon took the book out of his hands, careful not to touch him in the process. "Well, thank you. I'll be sure he doesn't do that again."

Andy looked at her almost pleadingly. Did she really never drop the damn act? "It wasn't a problem, Captain. Really."

She took note of his look-and his tone was softer than usual, too. Good. Maybe he was sorry for making her cry, for being a jackass, for being totally out of line. It still didn't excuse it. She watched him for a moment, half annoyed he was still standing in her door way. "Well goodnight then, lieutenant Flynn."

Andy caught the door as Sharon tried to close it. Now that he was in front her, he felt compelled to apologize. He hadn't meant to go off on her. And god, he hated making her cry. He hadn't expected seeing her in tears to affect him so much. She could make him feel bad even when she wasn't trying.

"Sharon, wait."

She raised her eyebrows. Insubordination was one thing at work, but invading her home was wholly unacceptable. "Lieutenant Flynn, you are totally out of line. Its fine that you came to drop off Rusty's book, but its time for you-"

"SHARON." He snapped again. He just needed her to listen to him.

She didn't know when he decided it was all right to call her by her first name. There was something commanding, something desperate in his voice that made her uncomfortable. She was used to Andy's snarky anger and the occasional hotheaded debate. She wasn't used to this emotion.

She stepped outside the door, effectively pushing him back in the hallway, then closed it.

"I would appreciate it if you didn't raise your voice to me in front of Rusty. Its bad enough you disrespect me at work in front of our colleagues, but I will not have it in my home in front of one of my children."

Andy nodded, backing away from her. "I'm sorry. For everything. I shouldn't have yelled at you today….or right now."

He was different. This wasn't her lieutenant apologizing for bad behavior. This was deeper, all of it, the outburst this afternoon, snapping at her now-it was out of character for him. Sharon's face softened as she watched him shove his fists in his pockets. If she stopped and thought about it, he'd really been different the last few days.

"Andy, what's going on with you?" She leaned against the wall and crossed her arms. She was tired, but this was obviously important. "Are you alright? Ever since this new case... if you need to talk, I will listen."

Andy shook his head and gritted his teeth. He'd hoped it wouldn't come up, but he should have known better. Despite his little fit, he knew she was perceptive. It was one of the things he liked least about her sometimes.

"This case just uh, it hits a little close to home. I'll be alright." He tried to look tough, but his eyes told her otherwise. This was serious-a lot more serious than he was willing to let on. The lines on his face stood out as he looked down at the floor. He seemed exhausted, defeated, and suddenly the fact that he yelled at her just didn't matter. How could she miss that one of her team was in so much pain? She'd taken note that he seemed bothered at the autopsy, but this was a tough case for everyone. She felt horrible for missing it.

"Andy…" she wasn't sure whether to be Captain Raydor or just be Sharon. "This is hard. I can't make you talk to me, but I would like you to. I know it doesn't always seem like it, but I do care about my team…."

He felt her hand on him, her slender fingers wrapped gently around his forearm. He relaxed slightly as she touched him. It was nice to have someone touch him. He ached for a hug.

"I don't want to bother you, Sharon. You've got a lot on your plate and this is a tough case for the whole squad. The gruesome ones always throw things off a little. I just wanted to apologize for lashing out. I shouldn't have done that." His eyes met hers as he looked up to study her face. She seemed as shocked now as she did when he yelled at her. "I know you care about us. I know this job is what you live for. Its what we all live for." He couldn't stop the tears brimming his eyelids. It was partly an embarrassment, partly a relief. He'd needed to let go for years. Maybe this was the moment he would. Maybe he had no choice.

Sharon eyed him carefully. She wanted to help him, but he'd have to let her in before she could do that.

"Thank you for that. Truly. Andy, what can I do for you? Just tell me-anything."

She was normally good with emotions but she felt like she was grasping in the dark with Andy. She wanted to wrap her arms around him, make him feel better. She wanted to take whatever was on his mind and make it disappear, right along with this whole terrible case.

Both Andy and Sharon jumped as the front door opened and Rusty peaked his head out. In the intensity of the moment, they'd both kind of forgotten where they were.

"Sharon, are you-oh, hey Flynn. I didn't realize it was you at the door." Rusty smiled at the lieutenant and offered his hand for a high five.

Sharon watched Andy straighten up and change his demeanor almost immediately. Whatever moment they'd been in, it was gone. Andy returned Rusty's high five and did his best to attempt a smile.

"Heya kid. Didn't mean to keep you and Captain Raydor, I was just dropping your book off."

Rusty rolled his eyes. "Oh, yea, that. Guess I should read it before my test next week," he grumbled as Sharon handed him the book.

Andy looked between the two of them. They were comfortable together. "Yea, you should do that. This one over here is a slave driver. She won't feed you for a week if you do less that perfect."

Sharon playfully smacked Andy on the arm and he couldn't help but smile back at her. She was prone to touching his arm in the office or getting his attention by tapping him on the back, but the way she touched him this evening was softer, more casual, comforting.

Rusty laughed as Andy teased Sharon. "Okay, we gonna get back to the movie or what? Its already past your bed time, Sharon."

A hint of pink flushed in Sharon's cheeks. "Oh, it is not. You two are impossible together!" It was Rusty's turn for the smack.

Andy reached in his pocket for his keys and let out a sigh. Apologizing to Sharon had made him feel a little bit better, even if the subject of Abigail was still hanging heavy in the air. Maybe it would be enough relief to get some sleep tonight. He could only hope.

"Alright, Captain. Thanks for the uh, the discussion. I'll catch you tomorrow in the office."

Sharon glanced at him, searching his face for any hint of the emotion she'd just seen, but he looked perfectly calm and level again. "Alright, if you're sure we can leave the case here tonight, otherwise the movie can wait, lieutenant."

It felt unnatural to call him 'lieutenant' after she'd just been able to say his first name, and to address his feelings as a 'case' but the unspoken barrier went right back up as soon as Rusty had appeared. She could tell it was all business from here on out and no matter how she tried, the subject was closed for the evening.

"I'm sure. I'll see you in the morning. Rusty, don't give her too much of a hard time. Goodnight you two."

And with that he was off. Sharon watched him as he disappeared in to the elevator. In a way, she was relieved he was gone. The whole day had been an amalgam of unfortunate happenstance with him, and yet, she felt like they'd managed to turn a corner this evening. Whatever it was, there was a new respect there. Maybe even the beginning of a friendship. Who knew? She could barely even imagine what tomorrow would look like at this point.


	6. Chapter 6

_Thanks again to those of you who reviewed! I'm glad you're enjoying it! This chapter doesn't move the story along much, but I had fun writing it anyway!_

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**Andy.**

_He stood there silently, the cold steel of the exam table pressed in to his thighs as he waited for the medical examiner to pull the sheet down off her face. The few seconds it took for her body to be revealed felt like hours and he could feel his heart pounding all the way down in his stomach. He clenched his hands tighter together, willing everyone else in the room to be wrong. The examiner pulled the sheet up and folded it so only her head and shoulders were showing. Her long brown hair was matted with clumps of dried mud and the bruises on her chest were deep purple. Her face was a gruesome sight with two gashes across either cheek, from her ears to her either side of her lips. Her eyes were the brightest blue he'd ever seen them as she stared up at the ceiling, completely lifeless. He felt his stomach churn as he took in the details of her face. He had to get out of there right now. He had to be wrong. It couldn't be her._

Andy rolled himself tighter in his sheets, thrashing about his bed in a cold sweat. His eyes jerked open as he willed himself awake. A dream. It had only been a dream. He groaned as he rubbed his eyes and rolled over to look at his alarm clock: 5:23. He'd only managed to finally fall asleep at four. Still, attempting sleep again would be futile-he had to be in the office by seven.

**Sharon.**

Sharon sat at the kitchen table going over the files again. She was wearing yoga pants and still had her black cardigan wrapped around her as she dragged her fingers through her hair and tied it up in a loose ponytail. As the sun crept up through the windows in the living room, she finally checked her watch-it was 5:30 in the morning. She was exhausted but she simply couldn't put the case files down. Every day they didn't catch this killer was a day he could strike again. She had to admit to herself it wasn't likely there'd be another murder, though. This was a copycat killing and usually copycats stuck to the original case pretty closely-she could only hope it was true this time. Elizabeth Short had been iconic for all the wrong reasons. Why there were freaks that were so fascinated with recreating her murder, Sharon would never know. One celebrity cold case was enough for the LAPD, they didn't need another one under her watch, and she was determined to close it even if it meant she didn't sleep for a month.

Barely able to keep her eyes open any more, she grabbed her lap top and sauntered in to the kitchen to make another cup of tea. She'd been reading the files all night, but nothing stood out. Maybe learning more about Elizabeth's death would help her with Amelia's. She was familiar with the case, but not intimately so. Sharon did a quick internet search for the Black Dahlia and began to filter through the results-hundreds of pages of theories on the case, potential suspects, even an episode of American Horror Story had featured the unlucky starlet. _How ironic_, Sharon thought to herself. The poor little thing couldn't make her break when she was alive but here everyone was, nearly sixty years later, and Lizzy's got a guest-starring role on a hit television show. The world was weird. And cruel.

Just when Sharon thought she wasn't going to find anything useful she stumbled upon a book titled _Black Dahlia Avenger: The True Story._ Great. A book. She didn't have time to read an entire fucking book. She took note of the author's name and emailed herself the bibliographic information. At least she had a task for Tao today.

Giving up for the morning, Sharon finished her cup of tea and started readying herself for work. She'd missed her chance for any sleep at all, so it was going to be a very long day.

**Rusty.**

Rusty grumbled as Sharon banged on his door again. "Rusty… Rusty come on! Get up, or I'm coming in there. You're going to make me late for work."

It didn't help that neither of them was particularly a morning person, so Sharon was as grumpy as Rusty was tired. He hated schooldays. "I'm UP" he muttered as he rolled over, burying his face in his pillow. Sharon sighed. She knew he'd be out like a light again in five minutes. She opened his door, and then opened his blinds-as had become their weekday morning ritual. "Rusty, get out of that bed RIGHT NOW."

Rusty sighed. He knew she'd pull the covers off next if he didn't at least sit up. "Fine, fine. I'm up." He glared at her as he adjusted himself to sitting and scratched his head. Sharon nodded and left the room so he could get out of bed and get dressed. He was particularly exhausted this morning because he'd stayed up late to finally finish the letter to his Mom. He still felt weird about sending it, but he did miss her. At least with her in jail he not only knew she was alive, but knew where she was. He hated that it was a relief when she was there. He grabbed the letter off his desk and read over it one more time.

_Dear Mom,_

_ I'm sorry to hear you're in jail again. Have you made any friends this time? Do you know how long you will be there yet?_

_ Life is really good now. Sharon is really nice to me. She takes really good care of me. She's not the best cook in the world, but she tries. She's sending me to this really preppy Catholic school that her kids went to. She says it doesn't matter if I'm Catholic or not as long as I can look guilty enough. She's kind of funny sometimes. I joined the chess team. It's a fun game. I won my last two tournaments and I have another one coming up in a couple of weeks. Some of the squad usually goes to each one. I feel really safe here. Sharon's a good person. I love her. She talks to me a lot about you, too. She says she's really sorry to hear you're in jail again, and she hopes you're okay._

_ I wish I knew what else to say. Where were you before you got arrested? How come you weren't on the bus? I'm sure you had something really important to do, but I missed you. I wish you'd come back. Well, I'll write to you again. You can write to me at Sharon's house, too. The address is on the envelope._

_I love you, Mom._

_-Rusty_

Deciding it was all right, he stuck it in an envelope and sealed it. Sharon knew all the information for the jail, so he'd pass it off to her this morning. When Sharon found out she was in jail, she bought a stack of cards and envelopes for Rusty so he could write to her. He didn't know how to tell her how much he appreciated that.

He pulled a light blue shirt over his head and tucked it in to his khaki pants as he pulled them up; at least wearing a uniform made mornings easier, even if it was ugly. He grabbed the envelope off his desk again and headed to the kitchen, smoothing down his hair as he went.

"Breakfast is on the counter," Sharon muttered as she packed her case files and lap top away in her bag, "and brush your hair before we leave, please."

Rusty sighed. Sometimes Sharon thought he was so much younger than he was. Still, he probably wouldn't have brushed his hair if she hadn't told him to. He rolled his eyes and stuck the letter out for her to take. "I finally wrote her. Will you send it for me?" Sharon straightened as she took the small envelope from him. She knew it was her job to encourage Rusty to speak to his real Mom, but she didn't want him to get hurt again either.

"Of course I will, Rusty. I'll mail it today." She did her best to force a smile as she fingered the envelope, hoping it hadn't been a mistake to tell him to do it in the first place.

Rusty could sense her unease. He looked at her for a long moment, not daring to move as she stared at him with the fake smile. It was hard to love Sharon _and _miss his Mom. Some days he thought he didn't actually miss her at all. Some days all he wanted was to see her again. None of that changed how much he'd grown to love his new foster Mom. "Sharon… don't get all weird. I'm gonna say this but you can't tell anyone else I did, okay?"

Sharon laughed. Rusty treated everything with secrecy, even when he didn't need to.

"One, I'm not being all 'weird'. Two, shoot."

Rusty leaned against the table, his hands picking nervously at the wood grain. "Just because I miss my mom doesn't mean… I don't know. I don't want her instead of you. You take care of me like she never did before and I really appreciate it. I guess-" Rusty shifted awkwardly from one foot to the other, "I guess I'm trying to say I love you, okay?"

The tears splashed down Sharon's cheeks before she could stop them. She knew she loved Rusty. She just hadn't been able to say it to him yet because she didn't want to make him uncomfortable. "Oh, Rusty," she half whispered, moving to hug him, "I love you too."

Rusty rolled his eyes. "I said don't get all weird, Sharon..." he chided her, but wrapped his arms around her as quickly as she had him. They hugged for a moment, both comfortable to stay in their embrace. Finally, Sharon pulled back, resting her palm against his cheek.

"At the threat of continuing my weirdness, you never have to worry about choosing me or choosing your Mom. I'm here. I'm family. I'm always going to be here. Even if you lived with your Mom again, I'd still be there, Rusty, because that's what family does."

Rusty rested his hand on top of hers for a moment, then shrugged. "I know. But if you don't stop being mushy you're going to make me late for school, Sharon."

Sharon laughed and nodded her head, "Okay, okay. Go grab your backpack. AND brush your hair!" she called after him as he walked down the hall.

She heard a heavy, exasperated sigh. Well, at least he listened to her when it mattered, she guessed.

**Christine.**

Christine sat in her office, trying not to be too distracted by her phone as it went off with text after text from her new friend. They'd been talking night and day for a week-she couldn't wait to get back to LA to see him. He really was the perfect guy. Not only was he a surgeon with a killer accent, but also he was in to old movies and running and the Hollywood scene Christine had always loved so much. She was seriously counting the days until her next trip to the west coast. Finding a break in her reading, she picked up her phone to check it.

James: Ok-20 questions time, abridged. Give me ten random facts about yourself and I'll do the same. Ok…go. ;-)

Christine: 1. I'm terrified of heights 2. Swimming is my favorite exercise, next to running. 3. I'm secretly a nerd, and a momma's girl. BSG is my favorite show-mainly because Laura Roslin reminds me of my Mom. 4. I crave chocolate chip cookies when I'm stressed. The big, warm, gooey kind. 5. My favorite color is forest green. I think it comes from being a red head. 6. I'm incredibly clumsy. 7. Dirty martinis are my favorite. 8. I hate cut flowers; it's a waste of precious greenery. 9. I **do** like jewelry. 10. If I can't be in high heels, I want to be in running shoes.

James: All good things. I guess it's my turn.

I'm secretly a history buff.

Pop culture fascinates me.

If I weren't a surgeon, I'd want to be a criminal profiler.

I dyed my hair blonde once. It was horrible!

I waited tables at the pig n' whistle while I was in medical school.

I have never seen BSG. What is that? Lets watch it.

I have a dog. He is spoiled.

I have a weakness for French fries covered in cheese.

I don't like snakes.

10. Grand finale….running is my favorite form of exercise, too. J

Christine grinned as she read through his text. Perfect. He was absolutely perfect, and only a few years older than her, too-which is better than she normally did. She couldn't wait to call her Mom and tell her all about him. Two weeks until she was back in LA felt like an absolute eternity.


	7. Chapter 7

Thanks everyone for the reviews! I appreciate every single one, and love reading them! Keep reading, keep reviewing! :-D

_**Trigger Warning:** Mention of sexual assault. Short, but graphic description of physical assault/brutality. _

* * *

**Sharon.**

"George Hodel was a physician," Tao muttered as he rested his head on his hands, leaning back in a chair in Sharon's office.

Sharon eyed him carefully, taking notes on his presentation, "tell me more."

Tao sighed. He could not believe his captain had made him read an entire badly written, over hyped crime novel as evidence to this case. "Well, Dr. Hodel was investigated for two murders-that of his secretary in 1945 and again of Elizabeth Short's in 1949 after an apparent short-lived relationship with the actress. His daughter, Tamar, brought forth a case of child molestation but those charges were dropped, too. His son was an investigator, but he had other in's to the LAPD, too. Look, Captain, this book... there were twenty-four other murder suspects besides George Hodel. I think we would do better to pull the cold case files and gather common traits from all of them. This guy-Hodel's son, who wrote the book, kind of seems like a whack job with daddy issues."

Sharon nodded. Of course going to the case files would be her next option. His assertion that it was a better idea than following up this lead annoyed her. She took her glasses off and sat them on her desk, squeezing the bridge of her nose. She could feel a migraine looming at the back of her head and it was only 10:30. Losing an hour on the phone with Christine this morning hadn't been fantastic, either, though she did miss her daughter.

"I appreciate your frustration, lieutenant. I don't want to have to make you read all these books any more than I would want to read them myself, but the truth of the matter is that these books, the movies, the webpages-this is what the _public_ has to go on. Given how sensational the Black Dahlia murder was, I think we are dealing with a psychopath, not someone who had a personal vendetta against Amelia. We need to know the information the public has access to-that is what our murderer will have based his little play on. The case files are locked down tight. As far as I'm concerned, they're supplemental but they can't be our main focus. This case is peculiar-and trying for everyone."

The most annoying thing about Sharon Raydor was how often she made sense. Tao had never particularly disliked her and even appreciated her reliance upon reason and rules from time to time, but not when it required tedious, boring work from him. Sharon raised her eyebrows as he sat mentally calculating how many more terribly written Hollywood novels he'd have to read.

"Anything else, detective?" She asked rhetorically, daring him to respond.

Tao shook his head and stood, adjusting his sports coat. "No ma'am."

Sharon pressed her index fingers in to her temples as she watched him walk out of the room. Now was not the time for her hormones to rebel in the form of a migraine. She sighed audibly and grabbed her iPhone, searching through it for John's number.

"John Raydor's office, this is Angela," A pleasant voice greeted Sharon.

Sharon leaned back in her chair and closed her eyes. Maybe it would help. "Hi, Angela. It's Sharon. Is he in?"

Angela perked up at the mention of her name and she chirped even more pleasantly than before, "Oh, hey Sharon! Yea, he's in. I'll transfer you now."

"Heya gorgeous," he growled in to the phone. This had been his customary greeting for Sharon for over thirty years. She couldn't remember the last time he'd greeted her otherwise, even when they first separated. Of course, physical attraction to each other had never been their problem in the first place. Sharon was comforted by the gruff voice as soon as she heard it. They'd been apart for what seemed like an eternity, but they were still friends, and he could still make her feel better.

"Hey there, pal. How are you?" She tried to keep the tired tone out of her voice, but she failed miserably.

"I'm well, can't complain. You have another busy case, Shar? You sound exhausted."

Sharon chuckled. Did he still know her that well? "You guessed it. Some freak re-enacting the Black Dahlia murder, of all things. I swear Los Angeles never gets any better, John."

"I'm sorry to hear that. You guys have any leads or are you reaching in the dark?"

Sharon sighed. She felt silly asking, but maybe it would be worth it. "Well, no solid leads… but I was wondering if you could do me a favor."

It was John's turn to chuckle. Though they were friends, Sharon rarely called unless she needed something from him. It's the exact reason why they worked better as friends than lovers-both were too wrapped up in their own careers and hobbies to remember they were married until they needed something from the other. It hadn't worked in the same household, but it worked when they were on opposite coasts.

"Sure thing, Shar. What do you need?"

She paused and clicked her tongue against her teeth. "This man that Chris is talking to. What is he all about? Has she said anything to you about him? I know I'm probably being paranoid, but something feels off to me."

"Off? How? You mean that our Laura Christine is paying attention to something other than law for once?"

"Well, that too, but no… about this guy. He seems a little too perfect if you ask me. And I am concerned with just how wrapped up he's managed to get her in just a week. I know I shouldn't follow a hunch…but with this case, I'm worried, John. Can you just keep an ear out-try to get some more information out of her? I'm going to see if she'll at least introduce me to him when she's here in a couple weeks so I can vet him for myself."

John sighed. His wife always worried too much, but hey who was he to refuse mother's intuition? "She hasn't said much. He's a surgeon, movie buff, into running. He does seem to have all the same hobbies she does, but I figured that was just a little bit of exaggeration to impress her. You really think it's a concern?"

Sharon ran her hand over her forehead, feeling silly for being so suspicious. "At this point, anyone and everyone is a suspect. We think the killer acted with medical instruments, so especially those in the medical profession are being looked at extra closely. It just… for this murder to happen and the wounds to be as surgically precise as Elizabeth Short's were… one of the original suspects was involved with many people in the LAPD. I find it to be an uncomfortable coincidence that this murder happens and then a surgeon goes after the police captain's daughter, you know? Oh John, I know its probably nothing… just please humor me this time around."

She sounded genuinely worried, and usually if Sharon felt strongly enough to act on a hunch she was right. "Okay, alright. You have my word. I will try to get some more information from Chris tonight. She's coming over for dinner. I'll give you a call in the morning, okay?"

Sharon nodded, and then remembered he couldn't see her. "Okay, thank you. Send her my love. Give her kisses for me."

"Will do. Oh-and Sharon, get some sleep. You sound like hell, babe."

Sharon snorted. "Thanks, John. You're too kind."

"Any time. Ciya." Sharon hung up the phone and put her head on her desk. She could kick herself for staying up all night. She truly was exhausted. At least with John looking out for Christine she could rest a little easier there. Something about this new guy just gave her the creeps. Of course no one would ever be good enough for any of her kids, but she couldn't shake the feeling that something was just wrong with this 'James'.

Sharon looked out her office window to see everyone working in the murder room except Flynn. She watched him for a moment as he fingered a photograph he was holding, an uncomfortable grimace on his face. She so wished they could have finished their conversation the night before last. If he'd wanted to talk today he knew where to find her. She contented herself with the thought and got back to the large stack of files on her desk.

**Andy.**

Andy walked out of the break room with two cups of coffee in his hand. Sharon hadn't left her office in hours so he was sure she could use the drink, and quite frankly he could use the break by taking it to her. He rapped on her office door with his knuckle, holding both cups of steaming liquid in one hand. Sharon looked up, surprised to see anyone at her door. She'd been engrossed in the database of sexual offenders for hours. Amelia had been raped. It was yet another lead to follow up on.

"Thought you could use a cup of coffee, ma'am." The corners of Andy's mouth hinted at a smile, but his eyes still held the same sadness as the night before. What was it about this case that had him so down? Sharon couldn't help but contemplate the possibilities as she watched him approach her desk.

"Thank you, lieutenant Flynn. That's very kind." She smiled and took the cup, but calling him lieutenant felt wrong after she'd freely called him Andy last night outside her apartment. Andy made the tiniest grimace as she recited his title-he didn't like the sound of it any more, either.

"No problem, captain." Andy took it upon himself to sit down across from her, looking uncomfortable as he leaned back in the chair. "Look, uh, about last night. I'm sorry to have barged in on you at home. I don't know what got in to me."

Sharon was almost disappointed by the apology. Something in her had liked that Andy stopped by last night, even if it really was just to drop Rusty's book off. She couldn't help the color that rose in her cheeks at the thought of it.

"Oh, it wasn't a problem. Rusty does need to read that book and…. I didn't mind it. I've been worried about you. It was nice to see you after what happened in the morgue."

"Really?" The surprise in his tone stung. She knew she was tough on them, but she'd always cared about her team, most especially Andy, even when they didn't care about her. Maybe she wasn't doing enough to make that obvious.

"Yes, really," she muttered, taking a sip of her coffee, "You haven't been yourself since we started this case. I suspected something was up, but after yesterday at the morgue… my offer still stands if you want to talk."

Andy twirled his thumbs around each other, unable to bring himself to look Sharon in the eye. He knew he needed to tell her, but he didn't know how. He hadn't spoken about Abigail for at least twenty years. It was stupid that it bothered him at all. The warmth in Sharon's voice was inviting, but he was nervous about bringing it up. He wasn't sure he'd be able to find the words if he'd wanted to.

"Its nothing, captain… like I said, it just hits a little close to home. That's all." He ran a hand through his hair and puffed his cheeks, sighing quietly. Something, Sharon noticed, he did every time he was uncomfortable. She looked at him for a moment, then stood and walked around him, closing her office door.

"Andy, you saying that doesn't tell me anything. Do you mind if I speak candidly, as a part of the team instead of as your boss?"

She sat down next to him, folding one of her legs underneath her. She rested her hands on her shin and stared at him intently, waiting for an answer. He wasn't expecting her to be so close to him all of the sudden. He was more comfortable with the distance the desk had put between them.

"Ah, no. Go ahead, Sharon." There was the slightest quiver in his voice as he watched her fiddle with the heel of her stiletto, resting on the side of her thigh as she sat curled up in the chair.

"Yesterday at the morgue, when you yelled at me… what did I miss? You looked like you were going to be ill. It was all just so…out of character. It wasn't you. I was a bad boss for not listening to your needs. I was a worse partner for not recognizing them without you having to tell me. I'm sorry for that, and I want to listen to you. I've seen how much this case has taken a toll on you, and I'm worried. Something isn't right here, Andy. You know it. I know it. But I can't help you unless you let me in."

There was a long silence as Andy stared at his hands and Sharon stared at him. She hoped she hadn't just embarrassed herself or worse by crossing a line with a subordinate officer. Part of her didn't care. Right now Andy obviously needed a friend, not a boss.

Finally, Andy spoke. "My sister. Her name was Abigail. She had the biggest, bluest eyes… like Amelia." A faint smile crossed his face as he laced his fingers together, thinking about his little sister.

Sharon watched him, wanting to reach out and touch him, but too afraid to cross another line. She didn't know where he was going with this, but she was sure it wasn't going to be a happy ending as she watched his smile disappear.

"I just, uh… Abigail was murdered when she was twenty-three. They found her on the riverbank in Jersey, bound and gagged. She'd been raped and her throat was slit. When they took the gag off, they realized her face had been slit, too. She had other marks, all over. Whoever killed her had great fun with it." His breath caught in his throat as he finished his sentence, trying to keep up a strong front. He hadn't quite meant to blurt it all out at once, but once he felt her name on his lips he just couldn't stop himself.

Sharon brought her hand to her mouth, trying not to look too shocked. She'd gasped when he started the story, but tried to keep her cool so he didn't stop talking. Finally, she reached down and placed her hand in his. She squeezed his hand gently, placing her other one on his arm. Andy wouldn't look at her. He stared at the floor, trying not to cry. Sharon stared at him, wishing she could make it all go away.

Andy caught the scent of her perfume as she moved closer to him. It made him comfortable and anxious all at once. He wasn't really aware of her hand in his until she began to stroke his palm with her thumb. He was glad she wasn't speaking; he wasn't sure he'd be able to take the lecture that would surely ensue along with his removal from the case. For now, Sharon sitting next to him, holding his hand was all he needed. They'd deal with the rest of it in a little while, when the shock wore off for both of them.

Sharon wanted to hug him, wanted to hold him and make the pain of the past disappear. She wanted to solve Amelia's murder so it would be done and they could move on. She wanted to talk to Andy, to hear more about Abigail. It was a hell of a time to realize it, but for the first time Sharon could finally admit to herself she wanted to know Andy-as more than just her hotheaded lieutenant. She was curious about what made him Andy; his achievements, his heartbreak, his past. For now, though, she needed to be his friend and his leader. She was going to help him through this if it was the last thing she did.


	8. Chapter 8

**Sharon and Andy.**

Sharon stood at the bar, waiting for Andy. She'd sent him home from work earlier-her office wasn't the place to discuss Abigail. It was far too heavy and personal a topic for the office and Sharon needed to have her head in the game while she was at the office, anyway- or, at least that was the excuse she was allowing herself to use. No, dinner was a far more fitting situation to listen and help Andy as his friend. She'd changed in to a pair of dark boot cut jeans after work, but left her green silk chemise on. She'd thrown a tight black cardigan over it and her hair was half up, half down with a few hair stray hairs framing her face-this certainly wasn't the perfectly groomed Captain Raydor Andy was used to. She wanted to appear softer, wanted him to know he could lean on her. She had to laugh as she sipped her glass of wine. Last time Andy, a bar, and Sharon had collided it was disastrous and she wound up with a hang over she wouldn't soon forget. Amazing how quickly things can change, she mused, butterflies rumbling around in her stomach as she waited for him. She felt horrible that she was excited to see him; surely she shouldn't find anything positive in this situation. Still, she _was_ excited to see him.

Andy spotted her immediately from the host stand and walked towards her, admiring her shape as she stood against the bar. Even in the depth of his sadness Sharon could excite him. _Good lord_, he thought, he was in trouble if they kept meeting outside of work like this. Sooner than later he wouldn't be able to control himself around her. He'd have to tell her how he felt about her; he'd have to kiss her. Part of him felt bad-like he was taking advantage of being sad about his sister to score a date with his boss. Really, that wasn't it, but the guilt was there nonetheless. He _was _deeply sad about Abigail. He was also deeply excited by the shape of Sharon's hips in her tight jeans.

"Waiting for someone?" he asked, practically whispering in her ear as he approached her.

She couldn't help the grin that spread across her face, or the chill that shot up her spine when his hot breath hit her neck. That was unexpected.

"Well hello." She grinned, grabbing her wine glass off the bar. "The table is ready for us, I was just waiting for you."

Andy offered her his arm and she took it as they walked to the table. He pulled out her chair and finally exhaled when she let go of his arm and sat-having her that close to him was challenging. "Thank you for meeting me tonight, Sharon…and thanks for letting me catch a break today."

Sharon smiled at him softly, turning her wine glass in her hand as she spoke. "It isn't a problem Andy. I'm happy to help you. I'm honored you trusted me enough to tell me about your sister."

Andy returned her compliment with a pained smile. The mere mention of Abigail brought it all back to the forefront of his mind. That's why they were at dinner, to discuss Abigail, not to shamelessly flirt with each other. He'd set this all in motion by admitting he couldn't handle the Amelia case, and now he'd have to deal with everything-her death, her murderer, mourning her. Even with Sharon's help, he wasn't sure he was ready for it.

"I appreciate your help, Sharon." It was a complete understatement of his gratitude, but he couldn't think of what else to say. He looked down at his menu and studied it nervously, suddenly feeling like a fifteen-year old boy on his first date. He knew he was attracted to Sharon, he'd known that for a while, but he didn't expect her to turn him in to a useless puppy. Women didn't do that to him, he did that to women. This was a foreign feeling for him, but he wasn't sure he hated it.

Sharon smiled at him and reached her hand out, touching his on the table. Her hand came to a rest on top of his and it was clear she had no intention of letting it go.

"Andy, I care about you. I know we've had our challenges at work, but I know you're a good cop. Besides that, I know you're a good man. I invited you to dinner tonight to help find a solution to the problem you're having with this case. I just didn't think my office was the right place to do it."

Andy nodded, but he was confused. She was holding his hand like this was a date. She was speaking to him like she was his boss. Was it sympathy, or did she have the same feelings he did?

"Alright, lets hear it boss. I hope this isn't simply a dismissal from the case."

Sharon squeezed his hand. "No, its not. I am sensitive to the fact that being a part of this case may be therapeutic for you. I am also sensitive to the fact that it could be damaging for you. I'd like to hear more before we make a decision, but I'm open to you continuing to investigate this if you think it is what you need, that you can still be an effective investigator, and that you think there's a chance we will catch this guy."

Andy was taken aback by her response. He wasn't used to Sharon being so flexible-if this were Taylor or Pope he was dealing with he'd be off the case in a minute. He rubbed the top of her hand with his thumb, enjoying the warmth of her slender fingers interlaced with his. Sharon caught her breath in her throat and blushed. She was as nervous as he was and she had finally shown it, if only subtly. Andy grinned at her, and then let her hand go so they could look through their menus and order. It still felt somewhat foreign to hold her hand-especially because he didn't understand why they kept doing it. The mixed signals had been happening all day. Sharon took a large sip of her wine, feeling suddenly like she needed a few more glasses to keep her confidence up. This was exactly how she wound up with the last hangover.

Andy looked through the menu once more, and then set it aside. Between his sister and having Sharon across from him, he wasn't much in the mood for food anyway. They ordered and Andy sipped his cranberry and soda, enjoying the feel of a drink in his hand even if it wasn't alcohol.

"Well… where do I start?" He shook his head, unsure of how to relay everything to Sharon.

Sharon looked at him expectantly, her lips pursed as she concentrated on his face. She always pursed her lips when she was concentrating. Andy thought it was cute.  
After a moment, Sharon opened her mouth to speak, and then closed it again. Should she question him about it or let him come around to discussing Abigail in his own time? Another moment passed and she sipped her wine, and then sighed.

"How old were you when Abigail passed away?" she asked gently, resting both her hands on the table as she spoke.

Andy grumbled. He didn't like the term 'passed away'. She hadn't passed away, she was murdered. "I was twenty five when she was killed. I was a rookie in the force. I spent two more years there while they tried to find her killer just to help my parents get through. After a couple years, we gave up. I moved to the west coast and started in the LAPD and never looked back." He brushed his thumb against his eyebrow and stared at the tablecloth. "That is, until Amelia."

Sharon nodded and picked at the stem of her wine glass. She felt helpless. She wanted to give him some kind of answer that would help but she knew she couldn't.

"So Abigail is a cold case still? I'm so sorry, Andy. No one should have to face that." Her tone was soft and genuine, but she chided herself for using a technical term. Abigail wasn't just a case; she was Andy's family.

"Yea. They haven't found her killer yet. We come from a pretty tight knit community so every once in a while it'll get drummed up again and the police will give it another half hearted go. In a way, I almost wish they'd stop that. Its easier to deal with her being gone when they don't call to remind me of it."

The food arrived and Sharon resituated herself at the table, smoothing a linen napkin across her lap. She wasn't very hungry anymore, but Andy had taken the liberty of ordering both of them a full three courses despite his own waning appetite and she felt compelled to oblige him.

"I can see how it would be easier if you didn't have many reminders. I'm sorry that keeps happening to you, Andy." She liked the way his name felt on her lips. She had to catch herself before she thought any further about the rest of him on her lips, too. She blushed again and picked up her fork, distracting herself with her dinner. Now was not the time or place to hit on her subordinate officer. Actually, she reminded herself, just about _never_ would be the time and place to hit on her subordinate officer.

"Its alright, Sharon. I'm used to it. Seeing Amelia was just hard. It brought everything back, especially the day I had to identify her. I didn't want my parents to see their youngest kid like that, so I volunteered to do it. No parent should have to see their kid in a state like that." He shook his head, thinking back to his dream-to her face. Abigail would always haunt him, but he didn't realize it could be this bad again.

Sharon sighed and reached her hand back across the table, wanting to comfort him. He glanced down at her fingers extending toward him and raised an eyebrow, the hint of a smile playing on his lips. He took her hand in his again and squeezed it, allowing his legs to rest closer to hers under the table, too. Sharon felt his foot brush against her calf and the red in her cheeks deepened. She wished she didn't blush all the damn time. Andy smirked and Sharon let out a small, embarrassed laugh in recognition. They were getting close-maybe too close-and neither one of them much cared that they were breaking the rules. Not tonight, at least. Something felt right when Sharon's hand was in his and he was going to savor every moment he could.

Their courses came and went and Sharon and Andy both stuffed themselves, much more receptive to the food than either thought they would be. Andy sipped his coffee while Sharon blew on her green tea to cool it down.

"So…" she hesitated, "now comes the hard part, Andy. We have to decide what to do about work. My first concern is that I want you healthy and safe."

Andy nodded, stroking her hand with his thumb as they sat and talked. "I appreciate that, I do. I think I can stay on the case, but I'd like to take a bit more of a back seat role. Tao isn't enjoying reading all the books and doing the research right now, maybe I can do that and free him up. If we catch the killer, I want to be involved. I want to see him pay."

Sharon nodded, considering his answer. "I think that's fair. You can stay on the case in that role. Lieutenant Tao will appreciate it, no doubt. I do have to make sure you understand one thing, though, Andy."

She contemplated whether to move her hand or keep it under his. She needed to be his boss at this very moment, but holding his hand was so nice. She quickly decided against letting go of him-just getting it out of the way would be better. Andy raised an eyebrow, waiting for her to go on.

"You have to keep in mind that we are dealing with Amelia's killer, not Abigail's. I need you to promise me that you won't get this turned in to an FID case if I let you be involved. I can see how easy it would be to snap-you have a lot of emotional history with this one. If you're going to stay on, I feel like counseling is going to have to be mandatory until we close this case-and we will close this case. Can you do that?"

Andy rolled his eyes, but didn't dare let go of her hand. He hated counseling-shrinks didn't do anything for him. Still, he could see her point. If something did happen and internal affairs or force investigation was brought in, at least Sharon could say she'd taken a recommended course of action in counsel with a licensed therapist. She was covering both their asses; he knew that if he was being honest with himself.

"Alright, alright. I can do that. But don't expect me to like it, okay?"

Sharon grinned at him. "Deal. You don't have to like it; you just have to do it. I want you to go once a week while we pursue this, and we will revisit how often you need to go when we prepare to make an arrest, based on the counselor's recommendation, okay?"

"Okay. Deal." Andy slapped his credit card down on the check before Sharon could see the Bill. He was calling it-it was a date, whether she liked it or not.

Sharon smiled at him and pushed her hair out of her face. "Thanks for dinner, Andy."

"Any time, Sharon." He grinned sheepishly, putting his wallet back in his pocket.

Andy stood and walked behind Sharon's chair, pulling it out for her as she got up. Her took her coat off the back of it and held it out for her to slip in to, then offered her his arm as they left the restaurant. Andy had parked next to her car on purpose, looking forward to walking her out at the end of the evening. Sharon pressed herself against him as they sauntered out to the parking garage, neither of them wanting the evening to end.

"Well, this is us," Andy muttered reluctantly, making no move to let her go. Sharon looked up at him for a moment, then sighed and buried her head in his chest, hugging him tight. It took Andy off guard, but he liked it. After a moment, he wrapped his arms around her and rubbed her back gently, holding her even tighter to him. This felt right, even when the rest of his world felt all wrong. How would he let her go, knowing she'd just be his boss tomorrow?

Finally, Sharon lifted her head to look him in the eye, a glint of sadness behind her big green irises. "I don't know what we're doing here, Andy…" There was no use in finishing the sentence. They both knew where she was going with it.

Andy pushed a stray hair out of her face and rested his palm against her cheek, his other hand still planted firmly on the small of her back. "I don't either, Sharon, but I'd sure like to find out where this is headed."

"This is going to be disastrous at work, and since I'm the superior officer, I'm headed straight for the chopping block…" Sharon groaned, her eyes still locked on his. It was as if her mouth was disconnected from the rest of her-she could hear herself opposing whatever this was, but the distance between her and Andy seemed to be getting less and less the longer they stood there despite her halfhearted attempts to stop it. She could feel his hips against hers as he held her close, his thumb tucked in one of her belt loops now.

"Work doesn't have to know right now, Sharon. Hell, we haven't even kissed yet, no crimes have been committed here." Andy tried to be annoyed with her and her undying love for the rules, but he was just too relaxed with her arms around his neck, her fingers gently tugging at the hairs at the nape of his neck as she ran her hands through it and over his shoulders. It was true they hadn't kissed yet, but if they stayed in this position much longer he wouldn't be able to resist it.

Sharon lowered her head and rested it on his chest again. She was wildly attracted to Andy, but was it really fair for her to add this extra stress to his life right now when things were already so upside down? Surely this couldn't be healthy with his current situation being so rough. She was being selfish. Ever since he'd hit on Chris at the bar she'd been determined to make him hers despite the rules at work. Did she do it just to see if she could? It hadn't been intentional, really. No, she finally decided, what she felt for Andy was genuine-but it wasn't fair, to either of them. She sighed quietly and lifted her head, thinking it was time to call it a night.

"Look, Andy… I agree that work doesn't need to know right now. I also agree that we're in a good place _because_ we haven't ah..committed any crimes, so to speak. Why don't we keep it that way for a couple weeks while we get this stuff figured out with the case? Then-I promise-we will revisit this."

Andy couldn't even pretend to hide his disappointment. He scoffed and let her go, half offended that she was able to just put him on hold, half infuriated that her damn rules were winning out- again. "Fine, fine. Whatever you say, captain." His tone was dismissive and he stared at the ground, not wanting to look her in the eye. He was angry with her, that was obvious.

"Andy, please…" Sharon leaned against her car, already missing the feeling of his arms around her. "I know… I know that I didn't give you the answer you wanted. It's not even really the answer I want. I just don't want to start this-whatever this is, whatever its going to be-while you are so upset. I want to help you through this, not put extra strain on you. You are already dealing with so much stress right now-the last thing I want to do is make it worse. I'm NOT walking away from you, and despite what I know you're thinking, I'm not choosing the rules over you. I like you. A lot. I have for a while and I've been stupid because of it… I'm sorry."

Andy's expression softened. He was almost surprised at how well Sharon managed to express her emotions. He figured she'd be as bad at it in her personal life as she pretended to be at work. He was also a tiny bit annoyed that she managed to always know what he was thinking. Still, he knew she was right, yet again. He nodded, resting his hands on her hips, moving closer to her but still keeping distance between them.

"Alright, alright.. you're right, and I know you're looking out for both of us. I can wait a few weeks as long as you promise me you won't change your mind and walk away. I don't think I can handle another ending with no closure right now."

Sharon brushed his cheek with her hand. She was shocked at how fragile he was; such a foil to the cop she knew in the murder room-definitely a foil to the FID file she was painfully familiar with. "You have my word. I will not walk away from you, Andy Flynn…besides," a sheepish grin crept across her face and she laced her fingers through his, "you've got me all hung up on you. I couldn't walk away if I wanted to."

Andy smiled and leaned down to kiss her cheek. It wasn't what he wanted, but it would do for now. "Good. That's exactly where I've wanted you for a while now."

Staying any longer would be torturous, so Sharon and Andy parted ways and got in to their cars.

**Rusty.**

Sharon was still on cloud nine when she came in to her apartment. She set her keys and her purse on the dining room table and moved to take her cardigan off before she switched on the lights. As soon as Rusty heard the door, he rushed down the hall.

"Sharon, have you checked your phone? Did you get ahold of Christine? Where have you been?!" Rusty was in a panic-Sharon hadn't seem him in this state in months. And Christine? Why would she need to talk to Christine? She wasn't due in LA for another three days.

"Rusty, slow down. What's wrong?" Sharon took him by the hand and led him to the couch. "Why do I need to get ahold of Christine?"

Rusty tried to sit, but was far to upset. He stood back up almost immediately and began to pace. "Christine decided to fly in a few days early. She was having dinner tonight with some guy-she said she'd be here around 9. We figured we'd surprise you when you got home, but now its nearly midnight and she's not answering her texts or her phone calls and I couldn't get ahold of you and I have no idea where she is and I-" Sharon put her hands on his shoulders, then wrapped him in a hug. She swallowed hard as her heart hit her stomach.

"Rusty, you need to calm down. I am sure there is a logical answer for all of this, okay?" She tried hard to keep the panic out of her own voice as she let him go and moved to grab her phone out of her purse, hoping to God this time her hunch was wrong.


	9. Chapter 9

**Thanks for all the lovely reviews here. You all are the BEST. To answer a few of the reviews/questions I've gotten on here...**

_1. Yes 'Laura' Christine was intentional. Little nod to Madame president. I couldn't resist._

_2. Christine's dad can be whomever you want him to be. Because Mr. Raydor still hasn't appeared and thus isn't canon (but is SO close to being so... five weeks, loves, five weeks!) I want to write him as vaguely as possible for now. :-D If you want to read an amazing, amazing story that *does* feature the admiral as Mr. Raydor, head over to 'The Hiatus' by bugsfic. Its a beautiful story-I cannot recommend it enough._

_3. I've never seen 'Monday Mornings', so that was totally coincidental... but I'm glad it fits! :D_

_Thanks to everyone for reading and reviewing. I love the details you keep pointing out in your reviews and I'm so glad you're all enjoying the ride!_

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**Christine.**

Christine lay against James on the couch, her feet tucked up under her as they finished watching _The Devil's Muse_. As the ending credits rolled on the screen, Christine sighed.

"That was a seriously twisted film, James," she mused, rubbing her eyes as he placed a hand on her back to rub it. He let out a quiet laugh and nodded.

"I know, but isn't it a great film? You know, they just found a body that looks like a Black Dahlia copy cat-and this year IS the 65th anniversary. Maybe the killer has seen this movie." There was a light tone to his voice; he was obviously joking, but Christine couldn't help but think it was odd.

Christine studied his face. He seemed to derive an awful lot of pleasure from talking about murderers. The only other person she'd met who was this fascinated with crime was her mother. It was odd when her mom got excited about it, if she was being honest, and it made her slightly uncomfortable that James did it too.

"There was a Black Dahlia case-here in LA?" Christine thought it was strange she hadn't seen anything about it on the news, and her Mom hadn't mentioned it the last few times they'd spoken.

"Oh, yea. They found a body the other day, out by the train tracks near Leimert Park. Not too far from where the real Black Dahlia's body was found." He sighed quietly, as if he thought the whole situation was unfortunate. As he caught her eye, he smiled at Christine as she watched him, tracing circles on her back with his fingers.

"That's really creepy. I'm shocked it hasn't been all over the news." She said quietly, feeling uncomfortable.

James nodded in agreement, "Yea it is a little strange that it hasn't made a bigger splash. I guess the LAPD got ahold of it pretty quickly, then. Poor cops. They're probably still stumped." He grinned, leaning back on the couch.

Christine glanced down at her watch. It was well after midnight and she'd told Rusty she'd be in earlier. It was a good excuse to go. "That is unfortunate for them…. It's really late. I think I should head out to my Mom's. Early start in the morning and all that." She said pleasantly, reaching for her shoes.

"You don't have to go if you don't want to. You could stay here," He smiled, pulling her back in to him. She kissed him on the cheek, then sat back up.

"No, I promised my little brother I'd be home tonight and I'm already three hours late." She stood up after she got her shoes on and grabbed for her purse. "Tonight was really fun," she smiled, reaching for his hand to help him stand up. James wrapped his arms around her and planted a kiss on her forehead.

"I had a good time, too, Chris. Call me in the morning, maybe we can grab a coffee on your break from court." Christine nestled her head in his chest. Even with his weird crime fascination, she liked him. After a moment she leaned her head back to look him in the eye, smiling.

"I will definitely do that." She kissed him gently and broke from the embrace, heading out the door before he had a chance to argue.

Christine pondered the LAPD case the whole way home. It had been really strange that her Mom hadn't brought it up to her at all. How could James know about it if it wasn't in the news yet? Maybe he had connections at the station. There were a metric ton of police officers employed for the LAPD and even if they didn't work for Sharon, they still usually had a good amount of knowledge about the major crimes cases. Should she bring it up to her Mom? Something about the whole situation made her uncomfortable, and made her not want to tell her Mom what James knew. What if it got him, or another police officer in trouble? She'd talk to her Mom in the morning, just to see if she'd say anything without too much of a prompt.

**Sharon.**

Christine stuck her key in the front door, sure to be extra quiet so she didn't wake Sharon or Rusty. She felt bad about being so late, but surely they would understand-especially because she wasn't meant to be in LA for three more days anyway.

As soon as Sharon heard the keys in the door, she breathed a deep sigh of relief. Rusty had fallen asleep with his feet in her lap so she couldn't get up without waking him. She would wait for Christine to come in. Surely Rusty would wake up then, anyway, but he was so worried she didn't mind interrupting his sleep to let him know Chris was home. Christine walked through the front door and set her purse down on the kitchen table. She was exhausted-she'd just sleep on the couch tonight. She moved through the dining room and spotted her Mom.

"Mom?" she whispered, touching her shoulder. Sharon turned her head as far as she could. Her eyes were puffy and her cheeks had tearstains running down them. Christine peered over the couch to see Rusty sleeping next to their Mom. Sharon glared at her daughter. As soon as she realized she was unharmed, anger began to set in. How dare she keep them both so worried?

"Mom, have you been waiting up for me?" She asked quietly, moving to sit in the chair closest to Sharon. Sharon rested her hands on Rusty's feet and picked at one of her nails.

"Yes, Christine, I have been waiting up for you. Rusty has been beside himself all evening. Why on earth would you tell him you were going to be home at a certain time and then not show up? Are you okay? Are you hurt? Where the hell were you?" Sharon couldn't keep the anger out of her voice. Her tone was biting as she chided Christine.

"I'm fine, Mom. I'm so sorry I didn't call Rusty. I went out for a quick dinner with James and we went back to his place." Christine understood her mother's worry, but treating her like a sixteen year old who had missed curfew was a little over the top. She crossed her arms and rested her head against the chair, exhausted.

"You've been on one date with this man prior to this evening and you 'went back to his place'. Seriously, Christine? I thought I taught you better than that." Sharon crossed her arms and met her daughter's resentful glare. Rusty had been abandoned. Why didn't Christine understand that she had to be on time with him? More than anything, Sharon was angry Christine had disappointed and hurt Rusty, now that she knew she was all right.

"I am a grown woman. We went to his house and watched a movie, if it's any of your business. I will talk to Rusty in the morning, okay?" Christine pouted. Even given her 30th birthday approaching, sometimes she could look twelve years old. Sharon shook her head, knowing there was no point in arguing with her daughter this evening. She was home and that is what mattered; she'd get the details tomorrow.

"Fine. I'm going to get Rusty settled in bed and then head there myself. You can pull some blankets out of the cabinet and make up the couch." Sharon's tone had changed. There was no anger, but frightening finality instead-Christine knew the conversation was over whether she'd wanted it to be or not. She'd always hated that tone of voice growing up. It infuriated Christine the same way it infuriated her father when they were young and all still living in one house. Christine let out a long sigh and walked to the back of the house to get ready for bed.

Sharon shook Rusty's shoulder gently and ran her hand through his hair to wake him up. As soon as his eyes were open he was on his phone, checking it. "Did she come home?" he asked quietly, looking up at Sharon hopefully when he didn't have any texts. Sharon bent down and kissed his forehead. She knew he was too old for it, but he was so sweet to be worried about Christine and she couldn't help it. "Yes, she came home a few minutes ago. She is sorry and she wants to talk to you tomorrow."

Rusty nodded as he sat up, then rubbed his eyes. "Well, I'm glad she's home," he said quietly, still clearly hurt that Christine had blown him off. Sharon rested her hand on his shoulder and pursed her lips. She knew there would be challenges when it came to integrating Rusty-but how could she get it across to him that Christine was the irresponsible one and he'd done nothing wrong? She sat next to him and ran a hand through her hair. "You know, Rusty… sometimes Christine gets very wrapped up in what she's doing any forgets about everything else. She got it from me, and it's a terrible quality. You didn't do anything wrong to make her blow you off, and its not alright that she did it."

"I know, Sharon," he muttered, "I just feel stupid for being excited to hang out with her, and I feel stupid for being worried now that I know absolutely nothing was wrong tonight, she just had somewhere better to be." Sharon found it at once endearing and sad that Rusty was so sensitive, but happy he trusted her enough to at least talk about his feelings now.

"Well, she's your sister. She's going to upset you and make you mad and make you want to pull her hair out more than once. I am not going to make excuses for her. She made plans with you, she was irresponsible for not telling you she couldn't keep them, and she was completely thoughtless and rude for not letting us know she was okay all night. She was wrong. But we will let her think about it tonight and she will talk to you tomorrow, and we will all still love each other after it." She did her best to be honest with him. She didn't want to patronize him or talk to down to him in an effort to make him feel better. He was a smart kid and she promised she'd be honest with him. She was doing the best she could.

Rusty nodded, then moved to hug Sharon. He wrapped his arms clumsily around her shoulders, beyond thrilled that she'd called Christine his sister. It was still a foreign feeling to belong, and he loved it when Sharon reassured him. Sharon hugged him back then patted his head. "Family will disappoint you sometimes, Rusty, but at the end of every disappointment we will still be standing there, sorry for our behavior, wanting you to know we love you."

"I know. Lets go to bed. I'm tired." Rusty fiddled with his phone as he spoke, ready for the mushy part of conversation to be over.

Sharon smiled and nodded and followed Rusty to the back of the house. She stopped at her bedroom door and watched him go in to his room, then went in to her own. Thank goodness she'd already washed her face. She was exhausted and wanting nothing more than to just fall in to bed and sleep. She climbed in to her bed and cuddled in to her pillows, trying not to think too much so she could sleep. She lay there for a few moments, going over the case, Christine's behavior, and her date with Andy. She settled on Andy's face and closed her eyes, happy to concentrate on him. Their dinner had been fantastic. She knew the point of dinner was not to have a good time but to help Andy with Abigail. Still, they'd managed to have a wonderful evening together despite the sad subject. She hugged her pillow, wishing it were him.

A few minutes after Sharon nestled in to her pillows and got lost in thinking about Andy, she heard her bedroom door open. All of her children were adults or at least nearly so. Why did they still bother her in the middle of the night? Part of her was annoyed, part of her found it sweet. She felt Christine's form settle in to the bed next to her, then felt Christine's head rest against her shoulder blades. She'd always slept like that. Not the most comfortable thing in the world for Sharon, but she loved it nonetheless. "You all right, Chris?" she whispered, reaching her hand behind her back to rest it on Christine's ribcage. Instinct. She'd done that since Chris was a baby, too.

"I don't know… I know you're mad at me, but I had a really weird night." Christine cuddled further in to her Mom's back, wanting to be close to her to feel safe.

Sharon could kiss sleep goodbye. Even with as tired as she was, and as early as work would start tomorrow, there was no way she'd let that go without being discussed. "What happened?" she asked quietly, giving her daughter a reassuring pat.

"Have you had any…out of the norm cases these past couple weeks? I heard something tonight that kind of freaked me out."

Sharon sighed. She hated bringing work in to her kid's lives if she could help it. Her life at work was gruesome. It was ugly, it was scary. Despite her nice outfits and her high heels and the fun she had with her team, Sharon had a tough career. She didn't want to expose any of her children to the hate and the fear and the ugliness she saw on a day-to-day basis. "Well, why don't you tell me what you heard and we'll go from there."

Christine wrapped her arm around her Mom's waist. "Well, tonight someone mentioned a murder the LAPD caught hold of. I don't know which department has it, but it was apparently really similar to the Black Dahlia murder. Some kind of copycat. I just thought it was weird that these people were discussing it and I hadn't heard it on the news or heard anything from you. Something about the whole situation was just…off. You know?"

Sharon tensed. They'd kept it out of the news on purpose. For once the LAPD had gotten it right and they finally weren't suffering a storm of media coverage before they had any answers and the city officials were as concerned with keeping this under wraps as the department itself was. How could anyone have found out? It shouldn't be general knowledge yet. "What did they say about it?"

"Well, they said that the LAPD found a body, cut up like the Black Dahlia, near Leimert Park. They made a joke about it being the 65th anniversary…and just said the poor police were probably still stumped. I didn't say anything, except that I thought it was weird it wasn't on the news yet."

Sharon sat up and grabbed her phone off the nightstand. This was the biggest lead they had yet and she wasn't going to let it slip through her fingers, even if it was nearly two o'clock in the morning. She sighed a little-now she could really kiss sleep goodbye. She searched through her phone for Andy's number and began typing furiously on her small iPhone screen. "Got a lead. Meet me at the office in 30. xox-S"

"Honey, what's James' last name?" she asked, turning back to her daughter.

"Reynolds, why?" Christine asked, sitting up to match her Mom.

Sharon shook her head and climbed out of bed, reaching for the jean's she'd thrown over her vanity chair earlier. "Nothing," she muttered, quickly changing her pants. She moved to her closet and grabbed a tank top and her old police hoodie.

"I need to go to the station. Stay IN the house, keep the doors locked, and I will be in touch in the morning, okay? Keep Rusty home from school. I'll call them later when they're open."

Christine moved to get out of bed, but Sharon shook her head. "Don't argue with me. I will explain later. I just need you to listen to me right now, okay Christine?"

Sharon grabbed her brush and ran it through her hair, then moved in to the bathroom to put her make up on. Her hair might not have been done and she might have been dressed like a bum but she was NOT going to see Andy with no make up on.

Christine sighed and tried to ignore the knot in her stomach. She knew from the moment James took her home that something was wrong, but she wanted to ignore it. She'd wanted him to be perfect, to be 'the one', and here her mother was, getting ready to investigate him. Sometimes she seriously hated Los Angeles.

Sharon appeared from the bathroom a few moments later, her make up minimal but there. She looked pretty despite the time of morning and her more than casual clothes. She moved to Christine's side of the bed and kissed her forehead. "Please, please, PLEASE listen to what I've told you, okay Christine? I need you to keep yourself and Rusty safe-you got that? I'm calling your father, too. I need someone around while I'm at work the next few days."

Christine nodded. "Okay Mom. I'm going to sleep in here tonight. What time does Rusty get up for school?"

"Six thirty. Get some sleep. Don't order take out, don't do anything. Do not open that front door unless I've called you ahead of time and told you it was all right. Got it?"

"Yes, ma'am." Christine stared up at her Mom. This wasn't the first time she'd locked her and her siblings in the house for their own safety. Usually it was a gross exaggeration, but Christine couldn't help but feel maybe her mom was right this time.

Sharon leaned down and kissed her head again, then headed out. Maybe they'd catch this killer yet.


	10. Chapter 10

**This chapter is quite short in comparison to the others, but I thought it should stand alone. Thanks again for all the lovely reviews. You're all awesome! Enjoy!**

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**Sharon and Andy.**

Flynn sauntered through the murder room with two red 7/11 coffee cups in either hand. Whatever Sharon had on this case, it had better be good. Not even the sight of her was enough to make him want to be out of bed and standing in the murder room at three in the morning. He rapped on her door jam with his knuckle and entered her office. She was wearing an oversized police hoodie and jeans and her hair was bushed back out of her face. She looked pretty, he thought to himself, as he examined her.

"Morning, captain," he muttered, setting one of the coffee cups down on her desk. He sat across from her and leaned back in the chair, exhausted.

"Morning, Andy. Thank you..." she smiled, taking the cup in her hands. "I'm sorry to drag you out of bed, but I think I may have something…and I think my daughter may be in danger." She couldn't hide the concerned look in her eyes. It was subtle, but Andy had come to recognize it well the last few months.

Andy straightened up and cleared his throat, "What do you mean, you think your daughter may be in danger? Did she ever make it home last night?"

Sharon nodded. She forgot to text him. Damn. "Yes, she came home, but she was a bit shaken up when she got there. Her date… a surgeon, mind you, told her some interesting facts about our current case. He knew where and when we found Amelia, and how she was killed. Needless to say, Christine was more than a little uncomfortable."

Andy winced. Having gotten everything off his chest about Abigail relieved some of the pressure, but it still pained him to think of Amelia lying in the morgue. He scratched his forehead and took a sip of his coffee, bothered that Sharon's family was being brought in to this, too. "You have a name for this guy? I can start with a background check and see if we can find any red flags on him tonight."

"Ah, yes. His name is James Reynolds, and he is a surgeon. Other than that, I don't know anything about him." She reached back and squeezed her own shoulders, rolling her head down towards her desk. She hadn't quite expected the exhaustion to set in this quickly, and her back was full of knots thanks to the stress of losing Christine earlier in the evening. Andy watched her carefully. If he looked closely, he could see she had black circles under her eyes, usually covered by her pristine make up. He'd never noticed how much of a toll the job seemed to take on Sharon sometimes until recently. Then again, he'd never really seen her as human until recently, either. She was easy to dismiss before, when he still thought of her as nothing more than a miserable bitch. Andy felt a pang of guilt as he looked on, studying her features. He really had been horrible to her in the past, but he had to respect her for holding her own. Even when the entire Major Crimes department made it blaringly obvious they didn't want her around, she often smiled, responded with some snark, and kept doing her job. He liked that she was strong. He was just sorry he was such an ass.

"You okay, Sharon?" his voice was quiet as he asked the question in to his coffee cup. Sharon smiled at him and nodded.

"Yes, just a little tense." She let go of her shoulders and pulled her sweatshirt off, then started to type on her keyboard, enjoying Andy's quiet company. "I've pulled his file," she muttered, concentrating on her computer screen as Andy concentrated on her form in just a cotton tank top.

Andy walked around Sharon's desk and settled in behind her, leaning against her chair as they looked through James' file. Sharon was very aware of how close Andy was to her now, and her cheeks reddened as she took in the subtle scent of his cologne. Trying to hold on to her composure and concentration, she moved her head side to side, and then refocused on the screen, willing herself to pay attention.

Andy reached up and rested his hands on Sharon's shoulders, squeezing them lightly. The action made Sharon jump and she laughed nervously, but didn't stop him. Andy began to work on her shoulders, keeping quiet as they both looked on at the screen, studying the file for anything that might stand out. He squeezed the flesh in between her shoulder blades and ran his thumbs up her neck, massaging her hairline. A quiet hum escaped her lips as he combed his fingers through her hair. The conflict was torture-she was thrilled he was that close to her, but disappointed he wasn't closer.

Sharon made a few notes as Andy rubbed her shoulders, trying hard to focus. He let his hands slip under the top of her shirt, his strong fingers digging in to her muscles. He bent down and kissed the top of her head, the temptation almost too much for him. He moved his mouth along her ear and down her neck, leaving a trail of light kisses on her skin. A chill shot through Sharon's spine and she couldn't help the goose bumps that rose on her arms as his tongue traced the line of her neck, then her collarbone. She closed her eyes tight, trying to shut it out. This was so inappropriate. Of course, at four in the morning there was no chance of being walked in on, but it still felt wrong to do this at work. She was afraid if she opened her eyes, she'd turn around. She'd kiss him. She'd let him take her on her desk.

Andy's hand moved around her, grazing her collarbone as he bit her neck-not hard enough to leave a mark, but hard enough to make her moan. She turned her head and caught his lips with hers, opening her mouth immediately to deepen their kiss. Andy traced his tongue along her lips, reveling in finally tasting her. He held her head with his hand, his fingers gripping her hair at the nape of her neck, and he ran his other hand over her chest, down her stomach. He hadn't meant for it to happen this way. He'd only meant to rub her shoulders, to make her feel better. Now, as he pulled her up to set her down on her desk, settling in between her legs as he kissed her, it seemed like they couldn't stop if they wanted to. Sharon pulled her own top off, revealing a black lace bra, and Andy's face immediately moved towards her chest, kissing the soft flesh as it was exposed. Sharon threw her head back and moaned, wrapping her legs tighter around his waist as she tried desperately to undo his belt. Andy wanted her, but he'd wanted it to be perfect. He wanted to cook her dinner, pour her wine, love her all night. "Sharon, Sharon..." he muttered, his hands caught in her hair as he buried his head in her neck.

Sharon was instantly annoyed, "what?" she snapped as she pulled at the button on his jeans. Andy sighed and wrapped his arms around her, wanting her to be as close as he could get her. "Not here." He was quiet, almost afraid of hurting her feelings.

Sharon let out a deep sigh and wrapped her arms around him in return. She knew he was right. They still had to come to this place and face their colleagues later tomorrow. How would she ever be able to get work done in her office thinking about what they were about to do in it? No, he was right. It was unprofessional, they couldn't do it here. She pursed her lips and nodded, lifting his head with her hands. She looked him in the eye and it was all he could do not to look down at her and just stare endlessly. She might have been pushing sixty, but her slim body was still next to perfect.

Andy grinned at her. He'd never look at his boss the same way again. "Sharon, I want you. I want you more than anything I've wanted in a long time… but I want it to be right. I want to take you out, and then I want to take you home. I want to take our time and enjoy it…" He kissed her gently, he couldn't help it. She looked so pretty sitting there on her desk, staring at him with a pout.

"I get it. I agree… I had no idea my hot headed lieutenant could be so sweet." She smiled, rubbing his back as they talked, her legs still wrapped around him.

Andy laughed and handed her her tank top. If he was going to keep his resolve, she needed to put her clothes back on. "Yea, well, your hot headed lieutenant didn't always want to take you to bed either, Captain Raydor."

Sharon smirked as she pulled her top on and wrapped herself back up in her hoodie. She slid off her desk and straightened her hair, then turned to him, burying her head in his chest and hugging him tight. "We should get back to work," she muttered, not moving to let him go.

Andy kissed the top of her head again and held her. "Yes, we should. Lets get through this case, get your kids safe again, and then I owe you some wining and dining, gorgeous. Deal?"

She liked the idea of a date with Andy. She liked the idea of seeing him exclusively. She even liked the idea of loving him some day. She couldn't pretend she wasn't nervous, but she was excited too. "You've got yourself a deal, lieutenant."


	11. Chapter 11

**_Sorry its been so long! I will try to update this story more regularly! Thanks so much for the continued reviews-its nice to see new readers! :-D Hope you all enjoy this chapter. I will get another one up soon, promise promise!_**

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**Christine.**

Christine sat at the bar and sipped her coffee, checking over her text messages while she waited for Rusty to wake up. All the doors and windows were shut and locked-thank God for her mother's central air conditioning. Of course, James had text messaged her last night after she left him, but she didn't much feel like talking to him. All the details he knew about his mother's latest case was unsettling. On the other hand, she wondered if she might be able to get anything out of him if she struck up another conversation about it. Hell, it was worth a shot, she thought.

C: Morning sunshine. Sorry I didn't text last night-was visiting w/Mom after I got in. How's you?

James responded almost immediately-he must have been waiting for her text.

J: No worries, I was just worried when you didn't tell me you'd gotten home safely. Sleep okay?

Christine saw this question as her opportunity to mention the Dahlia murder.

C: No! Had nightmares after that terrible film, and I couldn't help but think about the murder here in LA. So weird…heard any more about it?

J: Nope, it isn't on the news yet. Why so fascinated? Don't you know curiosity killed the cat? ;-)

C: Good thing cats have nine lives! Just want to know more about it. Seems like it was a totally identical killing to the original. Tell me more, tell me more.

J: Don't know more. Girl was drugged, killed, and left I guess. Bad day for her. Off to work, Chris. Chat later.

Christine thought it odd he ended the conversation so abruptly, but decided to leave it alone. Drugged-that was something he hadn't told her the night before. She made a mental note to tell her Mom as soon as she could get ahold of her, then moved in to the kitchen to make breakfast for herself and Rusty.

**Sharon.**

Sharon leaned against Andy's desk in the murder room; black circles peaking through the make up she'd applied at two o'clock that morning. They still had twenty minutes or so before the rest of the squad arrived and Sharon wanted to be sure they had every detail properly laid out before everyone got in. Andy rubbed her leg absent mindedly as she spoke. She didn't mind it-if anything it relaxed her. She watched Andy as he stacked the papers on his desk neatly in three separate piles-one a stack of information on James, the other two stacks of information on both his father and brother.

"Alright, captain. Everything is in order. As soon as everyone gets here, its go time." Andy grinned at her, patting her thigh as he spoke. He knew he shouldn't be so close to her in the office, but he didn't much care.

Sharon nodded and rest her hand on top of his, humming in agreement. "Great. I'm going to go call the kids really quickly, then I'll be ready to brief everyone." She squeezed his hand and sauntered in to her office, shutting the door behind her. A quiet yawn escaped her lips as she reached for her phone, dialing Christine's number.

"Hey Mom." Her daughter sounded cheery, all things considered.

"Hey Christy. Rusty up yet, or did he roll back over when you told him no school?"

Christine laughed and flipped the pancakes she was making, cradling the phone between her ear and her shoulder. "No, he's up and happily accepted his impromptu day off school."

"Good, good," Sharon muttered, yawning again. She was exhausted but she couldn't afford to lose any more time on this case. "You're keeping the house locked, right? Have you heard from James?"

Christine sighed. The whole thing made her uncomfortable. "Yes, I heard from him this morning, but he's working at the hospital today. All doors and windows are locked down tight, Mom. Promise. There is one thing about James, though…" she trailed off, focused on plating the breakfast she'd just made.

"Yes?" Sharon asked, her attention peaked.

"Well, he mentioned this morning that the girl who was killed last week- Amelia-she'd been drugged. I can forward you the text… I need my phone, so you can't have it as evidence if you can help it, please."

"He knew her name?" Sharon snapped. They certainly hadn't released that.

"No, no. Just said the girl had been drugged, killed, and left, or dumped, or something to that affect. He wouldn't say much else. After that he said he had to work and quit talking to me."

Sharon sighed. Well, knowledge of the fact that she was drugged was still solid gold in her book. "Alright, umn... let me talk to lieutenant Tao when he gets about how best to handle the phone thing. I promise you, if I have to take your phone, we will get you another ASAP. Please, please, please don't leave the house or do anything today. Make sure Rusty stays inside, too."

Christine rolled her eyes. She'd heard this how many times growing up? Every time a case hit close to home her mother put the whole family on lock down, whether it was necessary or not. Still, better safe than sorry she supposed. "Alright, alright, Mom. We will not go anywhere. Scouts honor."

"Okay. Thank you. Everyone is just starting to arrive and I need to brief the team, but I will call you in a couple of hours. I love you." Sharon hung up the phone as soon as she'd heard her daughter's reply and strutted back in to the murder room. James wasn't very intelligent for a murderer. He'd pulled off the perfect crime if you only looked at the scene, but he may as well of turned himself in with everything he'd told Christine over the last couple days.

"Lieutenant Flynn, a word please?" she asked quietly, pointing to her office. Andy got up and followed obediently, keeping a safe distance between them now that both lieutenant Provenza and lieutenant Tao were at their desks.

"What's up, captain?" he asked calmly, crossing his arms over his chest. Sharon had to commend him-his transition from smitten potential boyfriend back in to her subordinate officer was seamless. She appreciated the simplicity; there was no need for strife over what they were in the office. She nodded approvingly before refocusing on the case, snapping her fingers as her thoughts came back to her.

"James Reynolds seems like he's ready to all but confess with the things he keeps telling Chris. This morning she got a text from him saying the girl had been drugged, killed, and dumped."

Andy raised an eyebrow. "And? We already knew those things, ma'am."

"Yes," Sharon grinned, "but no one who isn't a part of Major Crimes _should_ know that, lieutenant Flynn."

"Ah," Andy smiled as recognition washed over him. "Well, add that to the pile of things we'll be interviewing Christine's lovely new boyfriend about… good move on Christine's part to ask him more."

"Yes-can you make a note of it so I don't forget to ask Tao about it? We need to dump her phone, but seeing as its my daughter, I'd like a very, uh..limited access to her texts." Sharon shook her head, having a maternal moment.

"Of course, captain. I'm on it. Looks like everyone is here-lets get started?"

"Lets." Sharon smiled, walked out of her office in front of him. Luckily, she always kept a spare suit in her office so she looked professional despite having shown up at the station at 2 am in jeans and a hoodie. Hopefully the suit was enough to distract from the fact that she'd forgotten both her brush and her make up.

**Andy and Sharon.**

"Good morning, everyone." Sharon greeted her team as she approached the white board, grabbing a small stack of photos off the table next to it. "I'm sorry to rush you all this morning, but we've got to get started right away. I have reason to believe we have a pretty solid lead on this Amelia case."

With that, Sharon had everybody's attention. She slapped three photos on the white board next to the few of Amelia already hanging. The faces of James Reynolds, his brother Joshua, and their father Christopher stared back at the team as Sharon hung them with magnets.

"The Reynolds-family of three, mother is deceased. Her death certificate, which lieutenant Flynn pulled earlier this morning, says natural causes. Unfortunately for Mrs. Reynolds, she was only thirty-four when she died. All three Reynolds men are naturalized citizens from the UK. James-" Sharon began pointing at the individual pictures, "is a surgeon in his father's medical practice. Christopher appears to be in retirement, but we need to double-check that. Joshua is a budding director who has a much longer list of credits with the LAPD than with any production company in Hollywood."

Sharon grabbed a marker and began to write the facts down for the team, glad to be passing off the individual tasks she could to get this taken care of today. "Joshua and Christopher are possible persons of interest-James is our main suspect as of this morning. Now, if you all don't mind, lieutenant Flynn is going to take the rest of it from here."

Sharon nodded at Andy and took a seat among the team, waiting for him to approach the white board. "Alright-I know this is a little different from how we normally do things, but Captain Raydor has asked me to step in as the lead on this investigation. James Reynolds, our primary suspect, is romantically involved with her daughter, so to avoid conflict of interest, I'm taking it from here." Andy gave the team a once over, looking for objections. When everyone kept quiet, he continued.

"Last night James disclosed some information about this case to Christine, which she then reported to her mother. Reynolds not only knew about the murder, but knew where the body had been dumped, when it had been dumped, and that she had been drugged and uh…" Andy swallowed hard, forcing images of Abigail out of his head. Sharon gave him the opportunity to lead this investigation because she needed him and she knew he could do it. Now was not the time to start thinking about his sister. "Uh, that she had been drugged and dismembered, just like the Black Dahlia. Given this, and his occupation, we have reason to consider him as a primary suspect in the murder of Amelia Michaels."

Both Provenza and Tao shot sympathetic looks towards Raydor. Having your kid involved in a murder case couldn't be easy. Tao didn't even like bringing his kid to the station; he couldn't imagine the worry Sharon must be going through. Sharon nodded back at both of them, recognizing their concern. She would wait until the end to address them.

Andy continued, reciting the orders he and Sharon had laid out earlier, together.

"Tao, Christine Raydor has offered to relinquish her phone to the LAPD as evidence so we can monitor text communication, as well as record the texts there already are involving this case. Can you get the paperwork ready for that, and Captain Raydor will accompany you to her home to get the phone.

Provenza, we need to find some connection between Reynolds and Amelia Michaels- right now we know he's got info about her death, but don't have anything linking her to Reynolds before she died. Look for anything, starting with seeing if she was a client in the Reynolds clinic. I'll stick around here with you to help with the legwork.

Sykes and Sanchez, we want surveillance on the clinic. We want to keep track of everything James Reynolds does for the next day or two while we get the rest of this information in order. Work with Buzz to get taps, trackers, whatever you need. Without a direct link to Amelia, we can't bring him in. Lets find that link."

Amy raised her hand, always one to have a question about her orders. "Well, as much as I hate to bring this up as I'm sure this is a sensitive and painful case for Captain Raydor, if Reynolds is willing to talk to Christine, shouldn't we consider using her in our surveillance? She may be the key to getting Reynolds to talk at all. I mean, if he's already told her this much, maybe she can get him to brag about it some more."

Sharon closed her eyes and rubbed her temples. The last thing she wanted was for her daughter to be in the middle of this mess, much less in continued contact with a potential deranged killer. Still, she had to agree that Amy was right, whether she liked it or not. Andy looked at her, waiting for some sign of approval before responding. Sharon let out a long sigh and stood next to Andy, feeling like she needed to address her team herself.

"You are right that my daughter could be instrumental in getting information out of James Reynolds, detective Sykes. As your captain, I have to recognize that. As her mother, it's the last thing I want. I want to assure all of you that I am willing to do what it takes to solve this murder. Somewhere out there, Amelia's mother is grieving her daughter. We have a responsibility to bring her killer in and to put him away. For life. Because of this obligation and my daughter's involvement, I have to take a step back from this case. As lieutenant Flynn is the incident commander, I thought it best to place him in the position to make most of the decisions. Given that, I am going to excuse myself and allow you to discuss this as a team. I will be in my office when you're ready to go, lieutenant Tao." Sharon gave one of her typical nods and excused herself, shutting herself in her office before anyone had the chance to respond to her.

Andy puffed his cheeks and sighed, leaning against the blackboard. "Sykes, I have to agree that Christine being involved is almost compulsory. Lets get this first round taken care of and we will reconvene here at 12:30 to see if it is necessary to bring her in today. Tao, if you can-allow her to keep her phone but pull her messages and put some kind of bug or something in it so we can record her texts."

"Sure thing, lieutenant." Tao nodded, already formulating a tech plan.

"Alright, lets break and get this over and done with. I want Reynolds in that interview room with a confession as soon as we can get him there."

Everyone scattered to complete their respective tasks, each one of them hoping that by the end of the day they'd at least be a couple steps closer to putting Amelia's murderer behind bars.


	12. Chapter 12

**Raydor and Tao.**

Sharon let both herself and her lieutenant in to her apartment, setting her keys down on the kitchen table as she made her way to the living room. "Well hello you lazy bones," Sharon chirped at her children, looking back to make sure Tao had followed her in and locked the door.

"Hey Mom," they muttered in unison, both sets of eyes glued to a horror flick on the television screen in front of them, a bowl of pop corn sitting in the middle of the couch.

Sharon smiled back at Michael, herself taken off guard by the 'Mom' comment coming from both Rusty and Christine. She recovered quickly and made her way around the couch, grabbing the remote off the table. She clicked the television off, met with a round of loud sighs, and glared at both her kids. "Sorry, here on official business," she sighed as she crossed her arms in front of her chest.

Both Rusty and Christine straightened up on the couch. "Oh, sorry," Rusty was the first to apologize, rising to his feet. "Can I make coffee for everyone? Hey, lieutenant Tao."

Sharon smiled and kissed him on the cheek. Sometimes he was just so loveable she couldn't help herself. "That would be wonderful Rusty, thanks."

Michael followed Sharon around in to the living room and took a seat in one of the armchairs, fiddling with the paperwork in his hands. "You must be Christine Raydor?" he asked, trying to ensure Sharon had to do as little police work with her own daughter as possible.

"Yes, I am." Christine smiled back, offering her hand for him to shake. "I take it you're here about the phone and James?"

Lieutenant Tao nodded his head and sat the paperwork down on the table, then pulled a small microchip out of his pocket. "I'm assuming your Mom has briefed you on the information we need to store as evidence, yes?"

Christine looked up at her Mom and sighed. "Hey, Mom? Why don't you go help Rusty with the coffee? Lieutenant Tao and I have got this covered." Sharon met her eyes and nodded, the concern apparent in her own. Christine turned back to Michael, "Sorry about that. I'd just prefer put as little strain on her as possible. She and Andy have been at this since two o'clock this morning and I know she's upset that I'm involved."

Michael hummed to himself, registering that Christine was comfortable enough to call Lieutenant Flynn 'Andy'. He was also impressed that his boss had obviously drug herself out of bed to handle this herself instead of calling her subordinates in. "That's not a problem. I think we would all prefer to put as little strain as possible on Captain Raydor given the personal nature of this case. Ok-basically what I can do for you to ensure you keep your phone is bug it with this microchip. It will record all of your data-incoming and outgoing. I will get it in a live feed to my computer. I understand that this must be sort of…exposing for you."

Christine crossed her arms as she contemplated her choice. "My only concern is for my clients. I am a lawyer so I would need a confidentiality agreement from you for each of my active clients to ensure that their information is protected should they text message, call, or email me. If we have that in place then I am fine sharing everything openly with you, and you alone. Anything that you can conclude is evidence I understand you are of course under obligation to share with the rest of the squad… but because of the sensitive nature of some of my client's cases, and my mother's personal involvement with the firm I work with, I cannot have her seeing any, and I mean ANY, of my client information."

Michael nodded in understanding. Seeing Captain Raydor's family brought a whole new level of respect for his boss. She'd obviously raised a brilliant young woman. "I can arrange for that. How about you get those agreements ready and we can hang around here until you've got them? I know your Mom is a little freaked about you leaving without her."

A smile crept across Christine's face as she shook her head. "Yes… she's a little over protective at times," she laughed, "How about this. I've already gotten a call from Andy and he needs to speak with me some time today, so why don't I keep my Mom here with me, and you can go back to the station? I'll prepare the agreements and have Mom bring Rusty and me both down to the station in a while. I know you all need her out of your hair down there right now anyway, and she could use a nap."

"Sounds good to me. She looked beat this morning. I'm going to head out, then, and I'll see you back at the station say… 2:00? I can tell lieutenant Flynn you'll be in around then too if you'd like."

Christine nodded and rose to show him to the door. "That sounds great, lieutenant Tao. Thanks so much for making this process so simple. I'll see you in a couple of hours." She walked him through the dining room and showed him out, then relocked it. Sharon's ears perked as she heard the door and she walked through to the dining room, hands on her hips.

"Where did you send lieutenant Tao, Christine?"

"Back to the station, Sharon." She challenged her mother, adopting the same pose. "You need a nap, I need to prepare some paperwork before he can bug my phone. I wasn't about to give you the opportunity to argue. Sorry, Mom."

Sharon rolled her eyes. Sometimes her daughter could be incorrigible. Still, she appreciated the gesture. A nap did sound enticing. Christine continued to stare her down, the glint of a smile playing on her lips.

Sharon finally caved, grinning at her daughter. "Fine, fine. If that's the case, I'm going to go lay down for a little while."

**Christine and Rusty.**

Christine nodded at her mom and watched her as she sauntered off to the bedroom, then she headed to the kitchen herself. "You actually make coffee, kid?" She asked Rusty, mussing the back of his head with her knuckles.

"Yes, I did. Not like anybody wanted any, actually…" he muttered, pouring himself a cup. He had been nervous since he called Sharon Mom. _Maybe nobody noticed_, he hoped.

Christine grinned and grabbed a mug for herself. "Sorry about that, I just figured it was best if we got Tao out of here so Mom could sleep for a little while. She looks like hell." Christine poured herself a cup of coffee and added her customary creamer and sugar.

"Yea, yea she does look tired. I'm glad she is getting some sleep…" Rusty muttered, staring off in to space.

Christine watched him for a moment as he shuffled awkwardly, staring down at the counter. She contemplated whether she should bring it up-but keeping quiet was never Christine's strong point. "Rusty, she loved it. She was never going to say anything in front of Tao…" she said quietly, hoping her words would comfort him, not upset him.

Rusty looked up, a glimmer of hope in his eyes, "You think so? I hope I didn't go too far… I just… I don't know how else to show her how thankful I am."

"Well," Christine sighed, sipping her coffee, "that's just the thing, Rusty. She will never, ever expect you to show her how thankful you are. Being a Mom just comes naturally to her. Being **your** Mom comes as naturally to her as being **my** mom does. She loves you and I'm positive she was over the moon when she heard those words come out of your mouth. If you're comfortable, you should just keep calling her Mom."

Rusty watched her as she took another sip of her coffee. Christine had quickly grown in to the role of not only a sister of sorts, but also his best friend. He wasn't sure what he would do without her at this point. "You think so? I have to admit… it kinda felt good to call someone mom again."

"Good. I'm glad." She grinned, rubbing his arm, "She is your Mom, Rusty. Nobody ever expects you to forget your biological mom-but its okay to have more than one. We might have missed a good few years with you, but you're stuck with us, dude. And if and when your biological Mom comes around, she's probably stuck with us, too."

Rusty laughed and punched her playfully, then shook his head. "Alright, lets get back to the movie. I want to see who dies next."

**Provenza and Flynn.**

Flynn rubbed his eyes and rested his head on his desk. He was beyond exhausted and the day was nowhere near over for anyone. It was hard to believe it was only eight short hours ago that he'd had Sharon on her desk with her top off. The whole incident seemed a million light years away.

"What's eating you?" Louis muttered as he continued his search on his computer.

"Nothing, just exhausted. Been here since two this morning." Andy groaned, not bothering to lift his head off his desk. "You finding anything interesting?"

Provenza shook his head. So far he'd had no luck tying Amelia to the Reynolds, but it was still early and he was only about one fifth of the way in to their records. "Why did Raydor call you and only you this morning, huh?" he prodded, trying to push Andy's buttons.

"Its obvious, she's got a big fat crush on me." Andy replied, completely deadpan, as he looked up at Provenza. The two men met each other's eyes and Louis let out a laugh.

"Yea, right, and I'm Santa Claus." Louis grinned, shaking his head. "I guess better you than me."

"Wish it was you instead'a me right now." Andy muttered, resting his head back down on his hands. Pretending not to like Sharon wasn't so hard. At the end of the day they were both adults with a job to do. If it stayed like this he wouldn't have a hard time keeping up appearances in the office-nobody else needed to know their business, at least not now anyway.

"Oh, hey-hey!" Provenza called out, motioning to Andy with his hand, "Amelia Renee Michaels. She's been seen at the Reynold's clinic...three times in the last six months. Bingo." Provenza grinned, pointing at his computer screen.

Andy raised his head triumphantly, smiling at Provenza. "Excellent. Print that off, lets add it to the pile for Raydor. Christine Raydor is coming in at 2:00…at this point we'll be able to make an arrest tonight. There any indication on there of which doctor she saw each time she was there?"

Provenza gazed at his computer screen, squinting to see properly, "Uh… yes. She saw a Christopher Reynolds twice and a James Reynolds once. There we go. Directly linked to James. Done."

Andy shook his head, a contented sigh escaping his lips. "This murder couldn't solve itself any quicker if James walked in here and admitted it right now. This guy… dumbest criminal I've ever seen."

Provenza and Flynn couldn't help but laugh. Both men felt confident this case could be a wrap in a matter of hours.


	13. Chapter 13

**Christine and Andy**

Christine sat in the interview room, elbows perched on the table as she watched Andy jot down some notes on his note pad.

"Okay, Christine, I think that's good for the interview," Andy smiled weakly, setting his pen down. He was so exhausted he could barely keep his eyes open but he knew the day was nowhere near done.

Christine wrapped her arms around herself, shivering. It wasn't until a few moments ago reality had finally set in: she was dating a possible murderer. She had allowed this man to kiss her and hold her hand and now she knew she was going to have to do it again-it was only a matter of time until Andy asked her. "Great…. What next?" she muttered, knowing the inevitable had to be said.

"Well," Andy sighed, pinching the space between his eyebrows. He hated to ask her to do this. He didn't want to put her through it; he didn't want to put Sharon through the insane worry. He wanted to protect her like he couldn't protect his own sister, but he couldn't help what had to be done. Without Christine seeing James again there was just no way they'd be able to make an arrest. "As much as I hate to ask you to do this, I'd like you to see James again. Tonight, if you can."

Christine couldn't help the chill that ran down her spine. She'd tried not to focus on the white board as she came through the murder room just a couple of hours ago, but the dismembered remains of Amelia Michaels caught her eye. How could she not notice the photos? The scene was so graphic she'd felt like she was going to be sick at the time. Recalling the images, she swallowed the bile that was threatening to surface in her throat now. Her mother faced scenes like this every day. She could do it for one night. "Alright, I can do that, but on one condition-my mother is kept far, and I mean FAR, away from this building and from me while it happens, Andy."

Andy nodded. He didn't want Sharon to go through any more strife than she had to, but he knew there was no way in hell Sharon would agree to that, with or without force. "I would love to agree to that Christine, but how the hell do you think I'm going to keep your Mother away from those monitors once we wire you? She's going to want to know every little move you both make."

"You're probably right," Christine muttered, wrapping her cardigan tighter around her waist. Thinking about it gave her a headache. "Conflict of interest? Isn't she legally obligated to stay out of it?"

Andy thought for a moment, trying to come up with some way to keep Sharon at bay. He knew there was just no way he'd be able to, not when one of her children was in danger. The only thing he could possibly use to sway her was that Rusty needed someone to look out for him to. "Alright, look. I'll see if your Mom will settle for watching from the station with Rusty here. Someone needs to look out for the kid and having him around might calm her down some. I think that's as far away as we're going to get her, Christine."

"You're probably right," the young woman sighed, running her slender fingers through her long auburn hair. "Alright, how are we going to do this, then? Walk me through it."

"Well, first we'll get D.D.A. Hobbs in here to work out some kind of deal this after noon. I need you to text James and convince him to see you tonight. We can do it at your Mom's since a few of the force already know the lay out, or if he agrees to his house we can manage there too. Its key that you're alone, though. We don't want to have to bust in to a public place if we don't have to. If you'd rather it happen at his then we need you to figure that out as soon as possible so we can get the plans for his building and formulate some kind of action plan for placing officers. We'll get you attached to a wire before you go in and we will have officers placed where they can get to you in an instant should anything uh… go wrong." His last words hung heavy in the air and Andy shook his head. He hated the whole situation. "We need you to try to get him to say something incriminating about Amelia. Anything at all. Coax it out of him."

Christine nodded her head silently, dazed. She was a lawyer, she dealt with criminals, she'd just never seen this side of it before. It made her that much more impressed with her Mom. "Okay…" she finally muttered, agreeing to the plan. "I uh, I'll text James then so we can get this started."

Andy watched her as she reached for her phone, a new sense of resolve set on her face. She was strong, she could pull this off, she knew it. It didn't keep him from worrying about her and Sharon. He reached his hand out and patted her shoulder affectionately before reaching for the doorknob. "I'm going to go call Hobbs. You can go in your Mom's office if you want to relax."

**Sanchez and Sykes**

Both Sanchez and Sykes listened intently to the conversation James was having with another man; Tao had tapped every one of James' phone lines and it led to a gold mine of information. Amy rested her head against the back of her seat as the sound of James' voice filled the surveillance van.

"Look, its taken care of okay? They're never going to find anything." James sighed. He sounded angry and impatient.

"And her blood? What did you do with that?" The other man asked, going over the details of what was very obviously the murder of Amelia Michaels.

"I said I took care of it. I'm a surgeon. I'm precise. You think I didn't know what to do with all that? I have biological disposal services at…well, at my disposal." James' laugh resonated through the van, sending a chill up Amy's spine. She couldn't wait until they could arrest this creep. There wasn't an ounce of repentance in his voice for what he'd done to Amelia. He deserved to pay for his crime. Sanchez sighed and rubbed his neck, obviously tense.

"Look, I have to go. Got a face-lift in twenty minutes. No, no, Raydor's kid isn't an issue. I've got her eating out of my hand. Yea. Ok, ok. Bye." Sanchez growled at the sound of his boss' voice. How dare James mention her name, much less Christine's. Amy sighed and stared out the window. "I think we have enough, Julio. Lets get this back to the station."

Sanchez nodded his head and moved to the front seat, waiting for Amy to join him. "God, I hope we don't have to play this for Captain Raydor. I hope she is still at home," he muttered mostly to himself. They'd all grown to appreciate Sharon's presence in the murder room in the last year and Julio had always had a certain respect for her. He couldn't imagine how hard this case had to be for her. Knowing James knew precisely who Christine was wasn't going to make things any easier on her.

**Andrea Hobbs.**

Andrea sauntered through the murder room and knocked on Sharon's door, expecting to see her sitting at her desk when she entered. Instead, Christine greeted her. Andrea raised an eyebrow as she looked the younger woman up and down. Long red hair, bright, clear eyes, killer cheekbones. Either this was a blast from this past or this had to be Raydor's kid. "Hello," She said quietly, cocking her head to the side, making her blonde hair fall over her shoulder.

"Oh, hello," Christine smiled, standing to shake her hand from behind her Mom's desk. "I'm Christine Raydor. I'm so sorry but Sharon has stepped out for just a little while. She should be back soon."

Andrea took her hand and shook it firmly as a pleasant smile danced on her lips. She'd always found Sharon to be a pretty woman, but her daughter was even better. "Andrea Hobbs. That's not a problem. Lieutenant Flynn briefed me over the phone-I'm sorry for both you and captain Raydor. It can't be easy dealing with this case."

Christine ran a hand through her hair as she sat back down and she motioned for Andrea to sit across from her. "No its not, but I appreciate lieutenant Flynn trying to keep my mother out of it as much as possible. I'm a lawyer, I'm used to speaking with criminals…albeit not in this capacity, but I'll manage I'm sure." Christine grinned at the older woman as she rocked from side to side in the office chair. Andrea was pretty-really pretty, Christine thought to herself as she took note of the woman's features.

'Oh, you're a lawyer? Lieutenant Flynn didn't mention that," Andrea smiled, settling in the chair. "So your mother is a cop and you're a lawyer and you're routinely in the same household? Poor Rusty."

Christine laughed. "Yea, the kid can't catch a break. Nothing wrong with a little discipline though." She smirked at the older woman. It felt nice not to focus on the case for just a moment. It still weighed heavy on her shoulders, but a couple of minutes of light banter proved to be refreshing. She appreciated that Andrea wasn't pushing a discussion of the case.

"Well, I'm sure Rusty is as lucky to have you as he is to have Sharon. I think there are probably few women on this earth who are better than your mother, Christine." The tone in Andrea's voice was serious; Christine was touched. Given her mother's career it wasn't often that someone commended her character, much less outright complimented her.

"That is very kind of you to say, Andrea. I know my mother has appreciated your friendship this past year. She's mentioned you quite a few times." Andrea blushed. She had been rather friendly with Sharon-they'd met for drinks and meals more than once, but she didn't realize she'd had such an impact on the woman. It was nice to hear that she was appreciated.

"Well," Andrea smiled, her cheeks rather pink, "If you are in town for a little while after this case is wrapped up, perhaps the four of us will have to make our way out for a celebratory dinner."

Christine met Andrea's eyes and smiled wide. Now was such an inappropriate time for sparks to fly, but fly they did. "That sounds absolutely lovely, Andrea…" She muttered, fiddling with a pen in the same way her mom often did during conversation. The women watched each other for a moment, both equally nervous as they sat in silence-which was only interrupted when Sharon barged through her office door.

"Oh-hello-both of you." She muttered, setting her purse down on the big green chair in the corner of her office.

Christine quickly stood to greet her mother. She moved to her side and kissed her on the cheek, wrapping an arm around her waist. "Good lunch with Rusty? What'd you do with him?" She asked quietly, wiping her lip-gloss of her Mom's cheek.

Sharon rolled her eyes. She couldn't help but be amazed at her daughter's open show of affection. She found it endearing and a little bit heartbreaking as she thought about the events to follow later in the evening. She smiled weakly at Andrea and wrapped her arm around her daughter's shoulders. Andrea noted their similarities as they stood side by side. "I locked him in the break room with my lap top. Go keep him entertained, will you?"

"Sure thing, momma." She nodded, squeezing her before letting her go. "Andrea, it was an absolute pleasure." Christine smiled at the older woman one last time, then marched herself out of the office.

Sharon moved behind her desk and all but flopped down in her chair, closing her eyes. "Have you been waiting long?" she asked Andrea without moving.

"Not at all, Shar." Andrea said quietly, settling herself back in her own chair. "Hard day, huh?"

"You have no idea." Sharon sighed, outright resting her head on her desk. "I've been here since two o'clock this morning, I have to send my daughter on a date with a murderer in five hours and-oh-remember that indiscretion I told you I was worried about committing? Well, consider it committed."

"No-Sharon!" Andrea shrieked, covering her mouth with her hand. "Here? In the office?!" Andrea could see the red creeping up Sharon's neck as she hid her eyes.

"Maybe, but not quite what you think," Sharon was quick to correct her, "He kissed me…and so I kissed him back." She spoke in hushed tones, with a satisfied smile on her face. She knew her secret was safe with Andrea and it was nice to tell someone.

"Well ha-cha-cha, Sharon Raydor. Color me surprised. Are you two, like, dating? Or what?" Andrea pressed her for the details, leaning in to ensure their conversation stayed as quiet as possible.

"I don't know. Too much to think about right now. We're waiting until this case is a wrap and then we'll try going on a first date…but it looks promising."

Andrea smiled at her friend. She was genuinely happy for her-it was about time Sharon Raydor got some love and attention. "Well you'll have to keep me updated on any developments!" she laughed, leaning back in her chair.

Sharon nodded, "Promise, promise. Seeing as you're my only girlfriend that'll be easy to do."

"Oh, way to make me feel valued, Shar." Andrea teased, rolling her eyes at the older woman. She watched her for a moment, and then sighed. "Now…about tonight. Do you want me to stay here with you and Rusty? I know Provenza will be here with you, but he isn't exactly the comforting type."

"Oh, Andrea. That is so sweet, but I don't want you to give up your evening for me. I'll be alright," Sharon lied, not wanting to inconvenience her friend.

"Sharon, you know, for someone who has to act as a part of her job every day sometimes you are a terrible liar." Andrea chided her. "I don't mind at all. I think you're probably going to need as many supportive people around you as you can get this evening while your daughter is in there with Reynolds, even if its for five minutes."

Sharon sighed and stared at her lap. She wasn't ready to admit how hard this evening was going to be to herself, much less anyone else. "I just... I don't want to think about it yet. What if something goes wrong, Andrea? What if he hurts her?" The desperation in Sharon's eyes was downright heartbreaking. Andrea couldn't begin to imagine how deep her feelings had to run.

"Andy will be right there for Christine, and so will Amy and Julio. You know they will protect her like she's their own, Sharon. She'll be wired and she will have an entire team there to protect her. By midnight tonight this whole nightmare will be behind us and you will be safe at home with your kids."

"God, I hope so." Sharon sighed, hoping beyond hope that Andrea was right and everything would go according to plan. Four short hours to go before she put her daughter in the hands of a known killer. This was going to be the hardest day of Sharon's entire career.


	14. Chapter 14

**Sharon.**

Her first tooth lost, her first scraped knee, her first broken heart. Sharon sat in her office, head on her desk, thinking about all of it. She'd taken care of all of those things for Christine-held her in her arms and comforted her, made her smile, celebrated with her. Now she was stuck in this office and it felt more like a prison. She knew her team would take care of her daughter, but it was not the same as **her **taking care of her daughter. Her stomach twisted in to knots as she rested her head in her hands, dreading the hour to come with everything in her being. She had always tried to keep her family out of her work, maybe too much; that's how she'd ended up divorced. This was the day she'd been trying to avoid for twenty-five years and here it was, staring her straight in the eye as she waited to send her daughter on a date with a murderer.

Her cell phone lit up next to her cheek and she peered over, seeing Andy's name flash across the screen. She snatched it up and answered, wondering if something had already gone wrong. "Hello?" she snapped, already sounding more panicky than she meant to.

"Hey, hey," Andy cooed. "Just wanted to check up on you."

Sharon sat up and rested her head against her office chair. This was going to be the longest few hours of her life. "I'm alright. Andrea took Rusty out to get something to eat. Buzz is getting the monitors set up and everything finalized now. How's my girl?"

"Nervous, but tough. Like her Mother." Andy said sweetly, "She can do this, Sharon, and I'm not going to leave her side. I promise you, your daughter is coming back to you tonight and we will solve this case."

Sharon let the tears that had been threatening to fall finally stream down her cheeks. How was it that Andy knew just what to say? All the time? It was infuriating sometimes. Right now it was just comforting. "Thank you," she muttered, trying to mask the fact that she was crying.

"We will see you in a few hours-all of us, okay Sharon?" His voice was gentle, soothing. She wanted his arms around her, her face buried in his chest. Andrea would have to do for now, though-she'd rather Andy be there protecting Christine.

"Alright, Andy…. Thank you, for everything."

"Any time, doll. See you." Andy hung up the phone and Sharon sighed, collecting herself and wiping the tears from her cheeks. She might as well go set herself up in the media room. There was no going back now.

**Christine.**

Christine knocked on James' door, so nervous she felt like she must be visibly shaking. The wire poked in to her chest under her bra, keeping her painfully aware that she wasn't alone. She tugged on her tight black dress, one she'd borrowed from her Mom's closet, as she waited for him to answer the door.

"Well, hello gorgeous," James grinned as he opened the door, stopping to admire her form in the snug fitting A-line dress. "Aren't you a sight for sore eyes?" He took her by the hand and pulled her in to the apartment, kissing her gently on the cheek.

Christine leaned in to him, trying not to act too nervous. Would he feel the wire under her bra? Would he sense something was wrong? She needed a glass of wine or something, quickly. "Good day at work, babe?" she asked casually, kicking her heels off by the door.

"Typical day, lots of face lifts." He laughed as he moved back in to the kitchen to stir the dinner he'd been making. "Help yourself to a glass of wine, sweetheart. "

Christine nodded, thankful for the invitation. She poured herself a generous glass of Riesling and thought of her mom, sitting back at the station, most likely freaking out. "Face lifts? You do a lot of those?" she mused as she sat down on a bar stool, resting her chest against the counter as she watched him cook. She knew conversation would have to flow naturally, but she wished this would go fast.

"Oh, yes. This is LA after all, sweets," he grinned, leaning over the bar for a kiss, "lots of face lifts, lots of boob jobs, lots of liposuction. That's just the name of the game when you're a private surgeon. It wasn't my first choice, but I broke my wrist playing rugby in college… can't be a heart surgeon after an injury like that."

Christine felt the slightest pang of pity for him as she took as long sip of her wine. "You wanted to be a heart surgeon, James?" she asked seriously. There was so much she still didn't know about him, that he didn't know about her. There were so many good things about him. How could he have committed that murder? The endless back and forth in her head was already exhausting.

"I did, but after I broke my wrist my Dad convinced me it just wasn't going to happen. It was a bad break, lots of tissue damage. He's a pretty insistent guy. In the end, joining his practice was just...easier, I guess." There was a glint of sadness in James' eye as he plated their dinner, but he changed his expression quickly. "Ah, well. Now I'm at the service of Hollywood's glamorous aging beauties. It isn't so bad. I have some interesting clients," he laughed. "Come on, gorgeous, lets eat."

Christine nodded silently, following him to the dining room table. "Is your father very demanding?" she asked, trying to lead him in to a conversation more suited to finding out about Amelia.

James sighed as he sat, pouring himself a glass of wine. "He is. My father rarely doesn't get his way… good guy and all, just… yes. Demanding is a good word for it, Christine."

"Ah… well, I'm glad I'm dating you then and not him," she laughed, taking a long swig of her wine. How the hell was she going to bring Amelia up again? She crossed her legs and uncrossed them, picking at her food.

"Who's to say I'm not as demanding?" he grinned wickedly, placing a hand on hers.

"Oh are you, now? You'll have to show me…" she laughed, raising her eyebrows at him. She was mortified that her mother's boyfriend to be, as well as the rest of her team, were hearing her speak about anything remotely sexual.

"Well, we could skip dinner," he suggested, running his foot along her calf, "And I could show you now."

Christine grinned and kissed him on the cheek, then finished her glass of wine. "After dinner, love. I'll need my energy if you're that demanding, after all."

James grinned, but acquiesced and took another bite. They sat in an uncomfortable silence for a moment, Christine wondering how she would ever get the conversation back around to Amelia. Finally, she decided just to bite the bullet.

"Any more about that crazy murder? It's been on my mind since you brought it up." She muttered, taking another bite of her dinner as she shifted in her seat.

James watched her for a moment, then shook his head. "No, nothing. It hasn't been on the news. Why are you so interested, Christine?"

She detected the slightest bit of defense in his voice. " I don't know, those kinds of things have always interested me, I guess. Mom's a cop, I find that kind of stuff fascinating."

It was James' turn to shift in his seat. "Your Mum is a cop, eh? I'm shocked you haven't heard about the murder from her then, Christine. Seems a logical place to ask, don't you think?"

His tone had definitely changed. Christine sat her fork down and poured herself another glass of wine, hoping she hadn't blown it. "Not really, my mother is kind of a steel trap when it comes to her cases. She wouldn't dare tell me about anything as gruesome as that case. I've always had an interest in crime, I think partly due to my Mom, but she doesn't like to bring the details home. I asked her about the case. She told me she didn't know what I was talking about."

James smirked, setting his fork down too. "Interesting, I would have thought for sure the entire LAPD would know about that case by now. I'm assuming that's where your mother works, after all." He took a swig of his own wine, leaning back in his chair. He didn't know what she knew, but she obviously knew something.

"Oh, she probably does know, but telling me is out of the question. She'd lie through her teeth if it meant keeping a case at work instead of bringing it home. She was married to a lawyer for twenty years…and she did breed me, after all. I guess she understands confidentiality more than I'd like her to…" Christine laughed, pulling her feet up to rest them in his lap.

"I see," he said quietly, rubbing her feet as he sipped his wine. He raised an eyebrow, eyeing her carefully.

"I'm just interested. I wonder who she was. I always wonder that…" she mused idly, talking mostly to herself, or at least trying to make it seem as though she were, " I guess I'm a little macabre."

James shifted in his chair uncomfortably. "Well, nothing wrong with that, I suppose. Both your mother and father deal with convicts… why don't we move this conversation to the couch?" he smiled, motioning to the living room.

"Oh, sure thing." Christine smiled, inwardly frustrated with herself. She wanted, more than anything, for this nigh to be over. So far she hadn't gotten anywhere with James and she was afraid if she kept pushing she'd make him angry.

Christine and James repositioned themselves on the couch and he slipped a hand over her shoulder, rubbing her slender neck. "So, your mother is a cop? You've never mentioned her before. What does she do?"

Maybe her Mom would be the key to cracking him. She could only hope. "She runs a department… they deal with the most gruesome crimes. Come to think of it, this one is probably hers. I wish she'd tell me something about it. She's been at work a lot lately-the closer she gets to solving a case, the less she is home."

Christine rolled her head down, allowing James to caress her neck and her shoulders. Maybe freaking him out would get him to talk-if he thought Major Crimes was close to solving the case he'd start to let it spill. "Oh, maybe…" he said quietly, "but I highly doubt it."

"Why? Killers are usually stupid, James. They always mess up somewhere." She muttered, a little more indignant than she'd meant to.

"Not all killers are stupid. The original black Dahlia case was never solved, partly because the murder was so clean and precise. If it's an exact copy cat, which it is, its likely that this one won't be solved, either."

Christine tensed. Now was the time things would get difficult, and dangerous. "How do you know if was an exact copy cat?"

"Well, I don't… per say… I'm just saying, if it was, then there you have it. Drugged, killed, cut open, blood drained, left in Leimert Park. Picture perfect for the movies, just like the last one." He rubbed her shoulders a little harder, his own discomfort shining through.

Christine turned to face him, curiosity getting the best of her. "How do you know so much about it, anyway? This case, I mean? It hasn't been released on the news… no newspapers have covered it… where did you find the information, James?"

James let her go and shifted uncomfortably on the couch. "Gee, are we sure Mummy didn't send you in here under cover?" James did his best to joke, but his discomfort was thick in his throat. "I have a friend who works at the LAPD. Needed to get the case off his chest. He tells me about a lot of his cases."

"Oh, really?" she smiled, leaning over to rub his shoulders, "that's really nice of you to listen, honey." It was better to let it rest for a moment, she thought. She rubbed the tension out of his neck, kissing his cheek. She watched him out of the corner of her eye as she caressed him. He was cute, she could admit that, but there was no chemistry-even if he weren't a suspect in a murder case.

After a moment of what they both could admit was uncomfortable silence, James spoke. "You really do take an interest in these kinds of things?" he asked quietly. His palms were sweaty.

"I do." She muttered, letting go of his shoulders. "I have always found crime fascinating. I want to know what makes murderers tick-what makes them do…what they do..." she sighed, leaning back on the couch.

"Why did you become a lawyer, then, and not a cop like your mother?" He asked, leaning back on the couch to match her stance.

" I don't know. I'm not sure I could handle every case. I think of this one-it just sounds so gruesome. I mean, poor Ame-" Shit. She didn't mean to say her name.

"What were you about to say?" James asked, anger flashing in his eyes as he turned to Christine, facing her fully on the couch.

"Poor…girl." She lied, the fear apparent on her face as she tried to back track.

"No, you weren't. How did you know her name?" He snapped, wrapping his hands around her forearms. "HOW did you know her name, Christine?" He grabbed her hard, shaking her.

"I didn-James, you're hurting me!" she cried out, already feeling the bruises forming as he pushed her in to the couch.

"You lying bitch! Did your mother set you up?" he growled, crawling on top of her as he forced her back hard in to the couch, slamming the back of her head in to the wall as hard as he could as the the tips of his fingers dug in to her flesh. "Tell me how you knew her name. You said it-you said Amelia. How did you know Amelia, Christine? How did you know her?!"

The anger was obvious in his eyes as he glared at her, his nostrils flaring. She winced as his nails broke the flesh on her arms and she felt the springs in the couch push against her back. Her head was pounding from its impact with the wall, and she knew it was about to happen again. "I—ANDY." She cried weakly, knowing he was only a moment away.

James moved and wrapped his hands around her throat, squeezing tightly as he continued to pound her head in to the wall. The rest was a blur. She heard the door being busted in about the same time she started to lose her vision. She heard the echo of Andy's voice calling her name, very faintly, as she closed her eyes, giving in to the sensation to fall asleep. She let the peaceful feeling of unconsciousness wash over her as she felt James release her and she slumped against the couch, giving in to the overwhelming desire not to respond to the desperate repeated calling out of her name.

**Andy.**

"Come on, you sorry bastard," Andy snapped as he led James in to the interview room, 'accidentally' slamming him in to the wall along the way. He had James' hands cuffed firmly behind his back and he couldn't wait to get him situated so he could get to Sharon's side. "Julio, take this loser so I can go check on the captain, please."

Julio nodded and grabbed James roughly by the arm, leading him in to a small, cramped room. Andy didn't waste any time; he rushed down the hallway and barged in to Sharon's office without knocking. She was sitting at her desk alone, head in her hands. "Oh, Shar…" he said quietly, standing still.

His voice startled her and she jumped, moving her hands away from her face. Her cheeks were stained with tears and mascara and it broke Andy's heart. "Sharon… she's going to be okay." He moved to her and wrapped his arms around her, enveloping her in a hug. His body felt warm against hers, safe. Sharon breathed in his scent, reveling in his embrace. "I couldn't listen to it. He started screaming at her and I left the room-I couldn't stay." She muttered, feeling rather weak.

"That's perfectly alright, Sharon. I think we all preferred that you didn't listen." He said seriously, moving back to look at her, but not letting her go. "She is alright. She has a concussion, but she came out pretty unscathed. Why don't we pack Rusty up and I will drive you to the hospital to get her?"

Sharon eyed him for a moment, then allowed herself to fall back in to his arms, cuddling him close. "That sounds look a good idea," she sighed quietly, "who's going to take care of the asshole in the interview room?"

"We'll let Julio and Provenza take care of it tonight. You can rake him over the coals tomorrow, okay?" He rubbed her back and ran his fingers through her hair, wanting to hold her there, like that, forever.

Rusty knocked on the door, causing Sharon to jump again. She had the feeling she was going to be jumpy for some time. "Hey…" he said quietly, popping his head in to the office with Andrea behind him. Neither Sharon nor Andy made any move to let each other go when they saw who it was. "Hi honey," Sharon said quietly, motioning for both of them to come in. Rusty looked upset and Andrea placed a hand on his shoulder as they both entered the office. "How you doing, Shar?" Andrea asked gently as Andy dropped his arms from her shoulders and moved to hold her hand.

"I'm okay," Sharon nodded, moving quickly to embrace Rusty. She wrapped her arms tight around the young boy, burying her face in his hair. "Your sister is okay, Rusty. I promise." She said softly, trying to soothe him. Rusty reached up and hugged her back, unable to hold his emotion in anymore. Tears threatened to fall as he hid is face in her shoulder. "That was scary…" he muttered, not moving to release his foster mother. Sharon gave him another squeeze, then ran her hand over his head protectively.

"I know it was, Rusty, I know. She is safe, though. I promise. James has been arrested and Christine is at the hospital being checked out. What do you say the four of us pack it up here and go get her?" She moved to meet his eyes but still had her arms wrapped around his, wanting to be close to him.

"Sounds good, Mom," he muttered, wiping the tears from his cheeks half-heartedly.

Sharon let a small gasp of air out and let her own tears fall again, still touched every time Rusty called her Mom. "Oh, Rusty. I love you. I'm so sorry we've all had to go through this tonight…" She sighed, feeling like she'd failed all of her kids. The tears had begun to flow freely and she covered her mouth, wishing she could escape the room.

"No-hey…no…" Rusty said quietly, moving to hug her tight again. "I love you, too… don't cry. She's okay. Lets go get her…" he whispered, rubbing her back in only that genuine, clumsy way a teenage son could with his mother. The effort made her smile through her tears and she gave him one last squeeze.

"Okay, okay…emotional Raydor is …off." She laughed softly, wiping her tears as she looked around the room at the collection of unlikely people she had grown to love in the last year. "Lets go get Chris. Andrea, would you like to come along, too?"

Andrea smiled at her friend and nodded, "Of course. I'd like to see if she's alright, and it's a little bit funny to watch my hard ass friend be such a cry baby."

Sharon rolled her eyes and wrapped an arm around Rusty. "Thanks, Andrea," She laughed, shoving a hand in her back pocket. She let Andy lead everyone out of the room and through the station doors.

**Christine.**

Christine laid back on the hospital bed with a blanket wrapped around her shoulders. Why did they always keep hospitals so damn cold? Her head was aching like it would never stop and she had a bandage wrapped around her right wrist where she had sprained it trying to get away from James. All in all, it had been a truly terrible evening. She closed her eyes, trying not to think too much when she heard the clicking of high heels down the hallway. That could only be her mother.

Surprisingly, Rusty was the first one in the room with his arms around her. He held her tight to him, running his hands gently over her hair. "Are you okay? Like, really okay?" he muttered frantically, pulling back to look at her. "Your wrist? What did he do to your wrist?"

She took his hand in hers and rubbed his arm gently with her other hand. "I'm okay, little man. I really am. I jut have a killer head ache and a sprained wrist." She smiled at her little brother; she was touched he cared so deeply for her. She looked up at her mother and smiled weakly. "Hey there, momma…" she said quietly, trying to be gentle with her. She knew her mother was probably at her own breaking point. Sharon held back next to Andy and let Rusty fuss over his sister for a moment, as if she was surveying the scene, making sure Christine was really actually there and actually in one piece before she approached her. Finally she moved to the side of the bed and leaned down to kiss her daughter on the forehead.

"I'm sorry I let you do this." She said so quietly it was almost a whisper.

"Mom, you had no choice in the matter. This is not your case. I made a decision, I did it. Better yet, I am alright." She wrapped her hand in her Mom's and squeezed it gently, then leaned her head against her shoulder. "Please don't beat yourself up. You know how stubborn I am. You had NO choice in the matter. Seriously."

Sharon rested her hand on her daughter's leg and sighed, happy to have her safe and in her arms. "Whatever you say, doll baby." She sighed, enjoying the quiet for a moment.

Christine hugged her mom around the waist, then lifted her head. "I can't sit like that for too long. I'll fall asleep. I'm not allowed to fall asleep." She laughed, rolling her eyes. "I'm starving. Can we go get food, please?" she looked around the room at Rusty, Andy, and Andrea, a grin on her face.

Andrea and Andy looked at each other, shaking their heads. "I don't see why not. I'm starving, I know your mother hasn't eaten a thing all day, " Andy smiled, "what do you say, Hobbs? You up for it?" Andrea smiled, but blushed nervously. "Sure, why not?" she muttered, looking at Rusty. "I'm a teenager… I just follow wherever that lady makes me go." Rusty laughed, pointing at Sharon.

"Alright, well lets get this woman some food then. She deserves it, she caught a killer tonight." Andy smiled, offering his hand to Christine to help her stand. Christine gladly accepted it, but Sharon moved to wrap an arm around her instead. Rusty moved to the other side of Sharon and wrapped his arm around her, wanting to be as close to his mom and sister as he could get. Together, the three of them walked out of the hospital room with Andrea and Andy following in tow. They'd deal with the weight of it all tomorrow, but for tonight all five of them needed some food and some laughs and some rest and doing it all together was going to be perfect.


End file.
